Union calls for ground staff walkout at Berlin airports on Thursday

Union calls for Berlin ground staff walkout

BERLIN — A union is calling on ground staff at Berlin’s two airports to walk off the job for several hours Thursday in a pay dispute.

The ver.di union said Wednesday that it was calling on employees of three ground service companies to walk out between 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) and 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). It said pay talks with the firms were stalled.

So-called warning strikes such as the one planned at Berlin’s Tegel and Schoenefeld airports Thursday are used regularly as a tactic to increase pressure in German wage negotiations.