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Aviation workers in Germany vote on indefinite strike
16 July 2008
Workers at the German national carrier Lufthansa are this week being balloted on indefinite strike action in an ongoing dispute over pay.
The airline’s staff, including cabin crew and ground staff, represented by the ITF affiliated union Verdi, began to vote on action on Tuesday. Talks between the union and the company failed to resolve the dispute. Members of the union, who have already staged a series of warning strikes over the issue in the past few weeks, are demanding a 9.8 per cent wage hike. The company is offering a 4.6 per cent pay rise from 1 July this year, plus a 2.1 per cent increase from 1 July 2009.
“We believe there will be a high turnout and an overwhelming vote in our favour. All the signs are that there will be a strike,” said Verdi’s Lead Negotiator Erhard Ott.
“The workers are furious that Lufthansa, despite glowing financial results, wants to fob them off with an offer that will only just match inflation,” said Ott. “In the last few years, workers have repeatedly propped up the company and made sacrifices. Now they want a share in the success of the company.”
Lufthansa is one of the most profitable airlines in the world.
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