German trade union ver.di has announced that airport security staff will cease strike action after reaching a pay deal during arbitration.

German airport security staff end strike action

25.000 airport security staff working across Germany have reached a pay agreement with their employer. The agreement means that further strike action and travel disruption in airports across the country should come to an end.

The announcement comes after ver.di entered an arbitration process on April 5, which is set to last until 12pm on April 9. According to ver.di, all parties involved in the arbitration process have “unanimously approved the arbitration recommendation” but will now decide whether or not to accept it. This decision must be made by 12pm on April 9.

Multiple strikes in the first quarter of 2024 brought air travel to a standstill at airports in Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Meanwhile, the country faced overlapping strikes by Deutsche Bahn staff, doctors and public transport employees.

Security staff can expect wage increases up to 15,1 percent

According to ver.di, security staff are set to receive a wage increase of between 13,1 and 15,1 percent within the next 15 months. The amount that employees will receive depends on their pay group, but will only increase hourly wages by a maximum of 2,80 euros, and only gradually until March 2025.

“With this arbitration recommendation we are able to push through a key point of our demands,” ver.di negotiator Wolfgang Pieper said in a statement, “and sustainably offset the loss of purchasing power for employees”.

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