According to “Bild”, MIT is therefore demanding that strikes in air, rail and shipping facilities as well as rescue services and energy and water supply are only possible after a “binding arbitration procedure has been completed”. All such work stoppages would also have to be “announced at least four days in advance”. A “basic supply” must also be maintained at airports, train stations and similar facilities.
According to MIT, a previously held ballot with a quorum of at least 50 percent of the employees should also be mandatory. MIT national chairman Gitta Connemann told the “Bild”: “A union must not take an entire country hostage for its own interests.”
On Friday, the Verdi union went on strike in addition to the hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, as well as the airports in Hamburg, Stuttgart, Bremen, Hanover and Dortmund. Several airports – such as Frankfurt and Hamburg – advised passengers not to come to the airport in the first place.
According to Verdi, the work stoppages are a combined cross-industry warning strike. Employees in the public sector take part in it, as do employees in aviation security and ground handling services. Collective bargaining is currently taking place in parallel at various levels for all three sectors.
Connemann emphasized in the “Bild” that the wage conflict in the public service of the federal government and municipalities is about “a critical infrastructure, namely freight and air traffic in Germany and in the rest of the world”. “This lifeline must not be paralyzed.” The right to strike should not exist “at any price”.
The MIT chair accused Verdi of deliberately obstructing the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday, with the work stoppages. Connemann said: “It’s a matter of life and death for the people in Ukraine. And a signal from the West against Russia.” Impeding this alliance against Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin would be “fatal”. “Putin will be happy,” warned the CDU politician.
However, the operator of Munich Airport had announced in advance that flights for the Munich Security Conference were excluded from the cessation of passenger flight operations on Friday.
