There is a threat of strike: Pilots: Talks about an overall solution at Lufthansa have failed

At Lufthansa, the risk of a comprehensive pilot strike is increasing again. After extensive explorations over several weeks, the Cockpit Association (VC) union ended talks on a possible major solution without any result.

The union’s collective bargaining committee wants to discuss how to proceed next week. The VC announces that they now want to return to the original tariff issues. After a strike vote, it is in principle able to start a strike at the Lufthansa core brand and the cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo at any time.

Overall concept for European fleet sought

According to the VC, a comprehensive solution to a number of areas of conflict between the pilots and the airline has been discussed in recent days. This particularly includes the future of the medium-haul fleet, which management wants to relocate to the subsidiaries City Airlines and Discover for cost reasons. For Lufthansa pilots, this would mean fewer jobs and career opportunities, so the VC is aiming for an overall concept for the European fleet that also includes collective agreements for the pilots at the subsidiaries.

Management has already linked initial offers to significant concessions from the pilots, which are not acceptable, reports collective bargaining commission head Arne Karstens. A company spokesman declined to provide details. The company continues to focus on discussions.

Company pensions for 4,800 employees

The pilots are only allowed to strike for goals that can be achieved according to the collective agreement. Therefore, the collective bargaining dispute is officially about the company pensions of around 4,800 pilots. The union entered the negotiations demanding that the employer’s share be tripled. However, an agreement was not reached over the course of seven rounds of negotiations.

Message from VC about failed talks