The ninth pilot strike since April at Lufthansa has grounded 1,511 flights and affected over 166,000 passengers. The pilots went on strike on 20 October over a raise in the early retirement age. Initially, the strike was limited to short and medium haul flights, but on Tuesday was extended to include long-haul flights. Lufthansa wants to increase the early retirement age, at which pilots can retire with up to 60% of their pay, which is currently at 55 years of age. The recurrent pilot strikes and the large scale rail dispute organised by a small corporatist union have initiated a public debate over the desirability of transport strikes and the introduction of a single union bill that limits the bargaining power of smaller unions.
English: http://www.dw.de/niche-unions-are-laming-germany ...
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For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.