Berlin Airport Learning from University of Liepāja — Everyone There Also Strikes for Extra Days Off

Berlin airport workers, with support from the 'Verdi' union, will strike on Wednesday because employers are offering only a 1% salary increase. Such stinginess would be considered an insult in Liepāja — here even University of Liepāja students preparing their thesis on wind energy expect a bigger salary bump.

Workers are demanding a 6% salary increase or at least 250 euros per month, which is about as much as apartment rent in Riga costs without heating. Berliners, it seems, don't understand that nowadays a 1% salary increase is about as useful as an umbrella on Karosta beach during a storm.

'We need additional vacation days!' says the union, which is completely understandable — working at an airport where someone occasionally forgets an airplane in the parking lot can be emotionally draining. Local worker Hans comments: 'I understand why they're striking. If I had to work for such wages, I'd hide at home too.'

Last week Lufthansa pilots already went on strike, canceling hundreds of flights. So Berlin airport continues the tradition — if you can't fly high, at least you can strike loudly. But compared to Liepāja's winter winds, Berlin union demands are as gentle as a summer breeze in Jūrmalaciems.