Lufthansa ground staff strike over pay

Lufthansa has been forced to cancel almost 700 flights due to the several-hour strike by ground staff due to a dispute over pay. The ver.di union called workers at several airports including Frankfurt and Munich out on a warning strike ahead of wage negotiations that began today at 4 am and continued until late morning. The union will meet with Lufthansa tomorrow to discuss ver.di’s demand for a 5.2% increase over the next year for 33,000 Lufthansa employees. Ver.di objects to Lufthansa’s call for a two-year pay freeze until January 2015.