German airports hit by strikes

Frankfurt - Germany's main airports were hit by a strike on Thursday morning, as public sector workers expanded industrial action to put more pressure on the government in pay talks.

The strikes are taking place at airports across Germany including Frankfurt, Europe's third-largest hub, and Munich, both of which are mainly served by Lufthansa, Germany's number one airline.

In a bid to prevent the chaos caused by last month's security workers' strike, when thousands were stuck in the Frankfurt terminals, Lufthansa had cancelled a third of flights scheduled for Thursday.

While many Frankfurt airport staff are privately employed, there are still around 6 000 public sector workers in areas such as baggage handling, security and ground work.

Trade union Verdi had estimated that some 1 400 workers would take part in industrial action at Frankfurt but no numbers were immediately available to confirm if that was the case.

Other airlines such as Etihad, British Airways, TUIFly, Condor and Air Berlin took measures such as shifting flight times, moving departures to Düsseldorf, or encouraging people to travel with only hand baggage.

At Frankfurt around 550 flights were cancelled, a spokesperson said. The airport usually operates 1 200 to 1 400 flights on a typical Thursday.

The walkout is part of wider industrial action that has also seen strikes by a range of other public sector workers, including local transport staff and childcare workers.

Trade unions want pay rises of 3.5% plus an extra €100 per month for about 2.1 million federal and municipal public sector workers. That would amount to a total increase of 6.7% they say.

The government says it is willing to accept a pay increase but that the demands are too high.

Frank Bsirske, the head of Verdi, said he wanted to achieve a deal in the next round of pay talks scheduled for the start of next week.

"We want to take part in the economic upturn," he said on Thursday.

Data this week showed that income expectations, which were at a more than 13-month high in February, fell in March but remained strong thanks to a robust labour market, which fuelled expectations that negotiated wages would rise more steeply.

This year, market researcher GfK, said workers in pay negotiations would likely get increases of 3% or more.