Public sector pay strike paralyzes German airports, cities

BERLIN – Public sector workers are staging a strike for better pay at German airports, local transportation companies and nursery schools.

The walk-out Tuesday has forced German airline Lufthansa to cancel some 800 flights and is expected to paralyze traffic in many of the country’s western cities.

Affected airports include Frankfurt, which is Germany’s biggest, as well as Munich, Cologne-Bonn and Bremen.

The ver.di union says Germany’s healthy economy is filling public coffers with record tax income and public workers deserve a cut.

It wants a 6 per cent, or at least 200 euros ($245) per month, pay rise for some 2.3 million public-sector employees. Workers who stand to gain include airport ground crews, bus drivers, hospital staff, daycare employees and other municipal employees.

Further strikes are planned in the coming days.