Strike grounded

German air traffic controllers called off an imminent strike on Wednesday after a court in Frankfurt ruled that it was unlawful.

The air traffic controllers' union GDF had voted to strike for six hours on Thursday morning before the German court banned the action on the grounds that it was "contrary to the social peace."

The union had originally sought to appeal the ban, but subsequently decided to call off the strike on the grounds that any court decision on the appeal would come too late to allow travelers to plan.

Markus Siebers, a member of the union's executive committee, said the GDF could still issue a renewed call for a strike if it provides 24-hours notice. He said, however, that such a move was unlikely to occur this week.

Had the strike taken place, it would have affected passengers on 2,500 flights.

The injunction was sought by Germany's aviation agency, the DFS, who rejected the air traffic controller's demand for a 6.5 percent pay rise and better working conditions. DFS has withdrawn its injunction.

In a statement on its website, The DFS said air traffic controllers' annual salaries ranged between 72,000 and 130,000 euros ($105,000 and $190,000) and stressed that most of them worked five days on, three days off.

It added that it had already offered a 4.1 percent pay increase over two years but it was "still willing to negotiate."

Overwhelming support

More than 95 percent of GDF's members voted for all-out strike action after talks with the aviation agency broke down. The union represents approximately 3,000 of the country's 5,500 air traffic controllers.

On a typical day in August, around 600,000 people use Germany's airports meaning disruption at the height of the holiday season could have caused chaos.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill, Spencer Kimball (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Michael Lawton