Security workers go on strike in two German airports

Travelers in Germany have been left stranded after security workers at two airports in the country went on strike over demands for higher salaries.

Services at Germany’s airports in Dusseldorf and in Cologne-Bonn were disrupted on Thursday after the security personnel launched a daylong strike to protest their low pay.

The protest led to hundreds of cancellations and significant delays, causing widespread disruption to the domestic air transport network. Both airports reportedly have only one in every 20 security checkpoints open.

The United Services Union in Germany, also known as Verdi, called for the strikes to start at 4:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) and end at midnight. The union said the industrial action holds no responsibility for the cancellation of the flights.

Over 19,000 passengers on 176 flights have been affected, with only 80 people passing security checkpoints every hour.

According to airport information, Dusseldorf – Germany’s third biggest airport – had 94 flights cancelled in the morning and Cologne-Bonn had 12 flights cancelled in the same period.

Union officials have planned another strike to take place on Friday.

Verdi says around 80 percent of security workers are in the lowest pay group and they demand a pay rise from just over eight euros per hour to 16 euros per hour.

In the last two months, strikes over the pay scale have been frequent in Germany. On January 18, Verdi called for a daylong strike at Hamburg Airport and it staged another strike last year on December 10.