Security personnel announce warning strike at German airports

Travellers should expect long waits at German airports Monday after the Verdi union declared a warning strike of security personnel overnight. The strike at about 10 airports would start early Monday and would partially end at midday, Verdi said as negotiations on a general wage contract were stalled. Security personnel responsible for baggage and passenger checks were expected to strike at Frankfurt, Baden-Baden/Karlsruhe, Berlin-Tegel, Berlin Schoenefeld, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne-Bonn und Stuttgart. “Late flights and delays are to be expected,” the (DPA) news agency quoted Verdi spokesman Christoph Schmitz as saying. “We’re aiming to hit the employers,” which is why the warning strike was announced at such short notice, he said. Exact times of the strike were not released for all the airports. Verdi represents 15,000 security personnell at German airports, the union said. It is demanding regular working schedules, indefinite terms of employment and fair wages. A spokesman at Frankfurt’s airport, Germany’s largest, said it would verify the strike and take “essential measures.”