Lufthansa has made a new tariff offer to its ground staff after the warning strike. The Verdi union is not satisfied with this.
There are no signs of a quick agreement in the collective bargaining dispute among Lufthansa ground staff, even after the company made an improved offer. Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky described the offer as “anti-social” compared to the pilots.
In a circular from the union to members it said: “The group is planning maximum increases for other professional groups with incomes of up to 300,000 euros per year. We on the ground with starting hourly wages of 13 euros, on the other hand, should continue to be content with a fraction.”
What does the offer provide?
After the 27-hour warning strike with 900 flight cancellations from the previous week, the parties met on Monday at Frankfurt Airport for their third round of negotiations. In the new offer, the company shortens the term from 36 to 25 months and offers the full inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros to all employees. According to the proposal, the first table increase of 4 percent should take effect in December 2024, before a second stage of 5.5 percent in February next year.
Lufthansa Human Resources Director Michael Niggemann described the public service-oriented offer as “good and fair”. It offers all employees salary increases of at least around 10 percent in the next twelve months. The manager said: “In our opinion, we have presented a final offer. Now it is up to Verdi to show a willingness to reach an agreement – for the benefit of our employees and our guests.”
Verdi wants to discuss the situation with employees in the coming days and discuss how to proceed. In an initial assessment, the eleven zero months were criticized as well as the “too low” wage increases. In the collective bargaining dispute, the union is demanding 12.5 percent more salary for the approximately 25,000 employees of various Lufthansa companies over a period of twelve months, but at least 500 euros per month. There will also be a group-wide inflation bonus of 3,000 euros. Lufthansa assumes there are 20,000 collective bargaining employees on the ground because the Verdi figure includes 5,000 employees who are paid outside the collective bargaining agreement.
Source: Stern
