Germany: Easyjet employees will have German labor contracts as of this summer

On February 18, 2010, Ver.di called on Easyjet’s German employees to take part in a warning strike between 5:50 and 10:30 am at the airport of Berlin-Schönefeld. This movement led to 16 flights being canceled and affected several hundred passengers. The conflict between the British management and Ver.di had two key origins. First, Ver.di wanted the 300 Easyjet employees working in Berlin-Schönefeld to be able to switch their British labor contracts for German contracts. Secondly, Ver.di blamed the British airline for preventing the election of a works council at the German headquarters, even though it is possible in Germany for every establishment with 5+ employees. Thus, in September 2009, Holger Rössler, in charge of Easyjet’s case at Ver.di, accused the airline of threatening the staff representatives, in charge of preparing the elections, to put an immediate end to their activities. “Such behavior cannot be tolerated (…). Easyjet must also respect German co-management laws” the unionist had warned. For its part, the airline denied trying to prevent the election of a works council. However, it specified that such an election was “impossible” because the employees had a British labor contract and were therefore subject to British law. Verdi then went to court to try and impose the creation of a WC. However, the procedure failed because of form. Mr. Rössler told Planet Labor that the parties have now reached an understanding and should sign, “after the Easter holidays,” a collective agreement allowing the election of a works council at Easyjet’s German headquarters.