Host Nation Update, Feb. 1, 2024
Verdi trade union – Warning strike begins: flight cancellations at Stuttgart Airport
The warning strike announced by the Verdi trade union for the whole of Germany began on Thursday at Stuttgart Airport. The airport’s security staff started the strike on Thursday night as planned, according to a spokesperson for the union. Four companies responsible for passenger, baggage and personnel checks were affected by the all-day work stoppage. Around 450 employees are working in three shifts every day. According to Verdi, more than half of them are on warning strike. All departures have been canceled for Thursday. There will also be problems with arrivals. Originally, 142 flight movements were planned for Thursday. Travelers are asked to contact their airline or tour operator. There were also major disruptions in other parts of Germany, for example in Frankfurt, Berlin and Düsseldorf.
Union official Jan Bleckert said: ” “In the collective bargaining rounds of the last ten years, we have succeeded in gradually bringing our colleagues’ pay out of the minimum wage bracket.” The inflation crisis threatens to eat away at these resources. Real wage losses must be prevented. The wage negotiations will continue on Tuesday. (SN, Feb 1, 2024)
Strike in Stuttgart and in Esslingen city transport Friday
The trade union ver.di has announced an all-day, nationwide warning strike at municipal transport companies for Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. In the VVS service area (greater Stuttgart), the yellow buses and U-Bahn vehicles of Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) and the buses of Städtischer Verkehrsbetrieb Esslingen (SVE) will be affected.
The VVS asks its passengers to be prepared and to inform themselves about alternative connections or – if possible – to work from home. S-Bahn trains, regional trains, branch lines and buses in the regional districts are not affected by the ver.di trade union’s warning strike. Buses operated by private companies on behalf of SSB on SSB routes will also be running as usual.
The strike affects the following services:
Stuttgart:
- U-Bahn and SSB buses as well as the forest cable car (Südheimer Platz-Waldfriedhof), rack railroad (Zacke), and SSB Flex vehicles.
- Night bus services from Feb. 2 into Feb. 3
- Buses operated by private companies on behalf of SSB on SSB lines will not be canceled (lines 53, 54, 58, 60, 64, 66, 73 and 90)
Esslingen:
- All bus lines of the Esslingen municipal transport company (SVE); lines operated by private companies are not affected
The VVS recommends that passengers check their connections on the day of the warning strike in the timetable information via the VVS app or at vvs.de. The connections are automatically displayed there on the day of the strike without the means of transport on strike. Passengers can thus quickly get an overview of whether a connection is also possible without a streetcar or bus, possibly involving a longer walk.
Passengers may also be able to change to suburban trains or local trains that are not affected by the strike. The buses of the private transport companies, which are mainly in operation in the outlying districts, will run as usual. (Translated press release from VVS, Stuttgart area transit association, Jan. 31)
Warning strike in the public sector in Stuttgart: Daycare centers and after-school care remained closed again yesterday
For many families, Wednesday meant being flexible again. Working from home, taking time off work, involving grandparents and friends. This is because many municipal daycare centers and after-school care centers remained partially or completely closed. The trade union Verdi had called on its members to go on a one-day warning strike. In addition to nursery schoolteachers, employees in other offices and municipal companies such as waste management also walked off the job. With this action, Verdi is attempting to increase the pressure on the Baden-Württemberg Municipal Employers’ Association (KAV). So far, the KAV has not wanted to negotiate a state-wide collective agreement on partial retirement. This was regulated nationwide until 2023 but fell by the wayside during the negotiations on the new salary agreement.
According to the union, the years of staff shortages have resulted in a high workload, which puts a great deal of physical and psychological strain on employees. There is great resentment among young nursery nurses in particular, says Raad. At the demonstration, she heard many people who could not imagine doing the strenuous job until 67. “We are calling on the local council to look into a collectively agreed arrangement for partial retirement and to ask the administration to agree a good collectively agreed partial retirement arrangement with Verdi,” reads a flyer that the strikers handed out at the town hall in the morning. (SN, Feb 1, 2024)