Wage Dispute
Court Forbids German Air Traffic Control Strike
A labor court in Frankfurt has forbidden German air traffic controllers from staging a planned six-hour strike on Thursday. Unless it is overturned at the last minute, the ruling will avert massive travel disruption in the middle of the holiday season. But the controllers' union may yet appeal the decision.
Germany may have been spared an
air traffic control strike on Thursday that would ground up to 2,500 flights. A labor court in Frankfurt accepted a request from the air traffic control authority to issue an injunction stopping the strike from going ahead.
However, air traffic controllers may still appeal against the ruling at a higher labor court.
The German Travel Assocation had warned that a strike would cause massive disruption at the height of the holiday season.
Germany's air traffic controllers, who have a starting pay of around €90,000 ($128,000) want a wage increase of 6.5 percent for 12 months, while the German air traffic control authority, DFS, has offered a rise of 3.2 percent plus a one-time payment this year and an increase by at least another 2 percent next year.
The union said the latest offer represented a pay cut in real terms. Air traffic controllers are also fighting for better working conditions.
