The dictatorship for repairs

Boeing Lukashenko was driven to the maintenance in Germany, but the workers did not want to repair it from solidarity with Belarusians. How ended?

The Belarusian government Boeing 737 EW-001PA flew to the Hamburg Airport Fulsbuttel on October 13 to get up for the maintenance of the local company Lufthansa Technik. Then the Ver.DI trade union published on social networks an appeal to the Hamburg workers under the heading "While we serve his plane, Lukashenko gives orders to beat the workers." It tells about the dispersal of protests in Belarus, the suppression of freedom of speech, non -compliance with labor legislation and the actual absence of the right to strike in the country. What was most outraged by German workers - suppressing the initiative of the stachhomes in Belarus. Members of the trade union decided to recall the old tradition of international solidarity and support the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP).

The Hamburg worker Lufthansa Technik not to occupy experience in the fight against authoritarian regimes - in 1989, the personal plane of the Romanian Secretary General Nikolai Chaysu was already driving them for repairs. Just then in Romania there was a revolution, and Chausti gave the order to "shoot the rebels without warning." “And in those days we put together wrenches together in protest against these actions,” we remembered the trade union and called on the associates to repeat the action, and Lufthansa’s leadership - not to fine workers for refusing to repair.

In fact, the Germans announced the plan for the seizure of the presidential liner "hostage" before the implementation of the requirements put forward together with the BKDP:

• stop violent suppression of protests;

• grant unlimited rights to strikes;

• give the opportunity to organize in independent trade unions;

• Lukashenko's resignation and democratic elections;

• The liberation of all political prisoners and the restoration of all dismissed at work.

True, in Lufthansa itself about the sabotage of Boeing’s service Lukashenko was not heard.

“We can confirm that in our Lufthansa Technik, the BELAVIA car is now located for maintenance. Work with all aircraft in Hamburg goes according to plan, ”said Wolfgang Rainert, a“ new ”representative of Lufthansa.

The authenticity of the statement by Ver.di was confirmed to us by the representative of the Hamburg cell of the Trade Union Dominico Perrono. So, the conditions set by working should have power and go beyond the limits of social networks?

“Some Lufthansa Technik employees do not want to work with the [Lukashenko] plane, but others are simply forced. The reason for this is the situation within Lufthansa, ”the trade union says.

Due to the pandemic, Lufthansa recorded losses worth 1.7 billion euros and, even despite the package of assistance from the Government of the Germany in the amount of 9 billion euros, announced forced dismissals. The decline in the passenger traffic first forced the air carrier to negotiate with the trade union, but in August the dialogue ended with a failure - 35 thousand employees from Ver.di put forward proposals for measures to reduce expenses that the staff would not have affected, but the company's management abandoned their ideas. As a result, in negotiations with flight attendants, the company decided not to raise wages and reduce working hours.

“The colleagues working on the spot told me that the situation in the company is difficult-the crisis in air transportation led to a crisis in Lufthansa, it is not so easy for workers to refuse to fulfill any contract. If the employee expresses a strict unwillingness to serve the liner [Lukashenko], he can do other machines, ”says the platform.

Employees of the Hamburg enterprise say that in general, there was no negative reaction from the leadership after the application for the Lukashenko plane. The inability to completely abandon the repair of Boeing is an economic issue, not political, so there is no need to wait for further statements in the case. “Most likely, we can see some appeals only if the authorities decide to take penalty measures against employees,” the trade union believes.