BERLIN (Dispatches) – Several sectors across Europe have been impacted by strikes as workers demand higher pay and better working conditions.
Around 300 flights were cancelled at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport as workers went on strike on Wednesday, the airport said.
Those flights would have transported some 35,000 passengers.
“Affected passengers are asked to contact their airline for information on rebooking and alternative travel options,” the airport added in a statement.
Employees in security, ground handling services and the company running the airport were striking over a pay dispute.
The airport opened in 2020 after significant delays and construction problems. Berlin Brandenburg Airport continues to struggle financially with a lot of debt but is working on becoming “financially independent,” a spokesman said.
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Coventry became the first in the UK to go on strike over the company’s low pay.
The workers voted in mid-December to go on strike.
“The fact that they are being forced to go on strike to win a decent rate of pay from one of the world’s most valuable companies should be a badge of shame for Amazon,” said GMB senior organizer Amanda Gearing in a press release when the vote happened.
A spokesperson for the GMB union said the workers make £10.50 (€11.89) as a base rate per hour but the workers are asking for £15 (roughly €17).
Around 300 workers went on strike on Wednesday at the Amazon warehouse.
Italy’s petrol station operators have been on strike across the country since Tuesday evening, although self-service stations remain open.
The action is taking place on both motorways and local routes.
Unions however are divided on how long the strike will last. Some operators will continue throughout Thursday while others will end it on Wednesday.
The main reason for the strike is the obligation for operators to display a panel showing the regional average fuel price. Unions say the government’s measure is accusing operators of “speculating on gas prices at the expense of the consumers”.
Despite the strike, however, Italian law requires that at least 50% of stations in urban areas remain open. On motorways, there should be at least one station operating every 100 kilometers.
The leaders of France’s eight biggest unions were holding a press conference in Paris over the government’s controversial pension reform, which aims to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
According to a poll conducted in January by IFOP, the reform is opposed by 68% of French people.
The proposal has already triggered fierce protests in the country, with opposition parties arguing the retirement age should be reduced instead.
Last week, over one million people took to the streets against the planned overhaul. In Paris, police clashed with protesters, with doctors having to amputate the testicle of a young man after he was clubbed in the groin by a police officer.