Tens of thousands of the airline’s passengers are once again unable to reach their destination as planned. But there is at least hope in a collective bargaining dispute.
At least one collective bargaining dispute at Lufthansa, which has been plagued by strikes, is moving again: Even while the cabin crew were on strike in Munich, the airline continued its negotiations with the Verdi union for ground staff.
However, the restrictions do not end for passengers: Verdi has again called on the aviation security forces at five German airports to go on a warning strike this Thursday. According to Verdi, the all-day strike will gradually affect Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe/Baden Baden, Cologne and Berlin airports over the course of the night.
Verdi called on employees in passenger screening, people and goods screening, cargo screening and service areas at the five airports to stop work. Verdi negotiator Wolfgang Pieper said on Tuesday that the employees were ready to increase the pressure on employers: “The strikes could be expanded.”
Flight attendants continue to strike
On Wednesday, Lufthansa cabin crew continued their strike at the airline: At Munich Airport, flight attendants from Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline stopped work at 4 a.m. The cabin union UFO has called for a strike on all Lufthansa departures in Munich by 11 p.m. on Wednesday evening. According to the airline’s estimates, 400 flights with 50,000 passengers will not be able to take off there.
Lufthansa cabin crew had already gone on strike at Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday. According to Lufthansa, 600 connections were canceled at Germany’s largest airport and around 70,000 passengers did not reach their destination as planned.
The UFO union is essentially demanding 15 percent more money for the approximately 18,000 cabin employees at Lufthansa and the almost 1,000 employees at the regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline with a contract term of 18 months. The union also wants to achieve an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros and higher allowances.
Negotiations for ground staff
Last week, hundreds of Lufthansa flights were canceled due to a warning strike by ground staff organized by Verdi. The collective bargaining negotiations for the approximately 25,000 ground workers entered the next round on Wednesday, and both sides blocked a continuation of the talks this Thursday.
“Both sides have the will to come to an agreement. There are no personal things that separate us, we are separated by money,” Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky told the German Press Agency before the start of the next round of collective bargaining for Lufthansa ground staff. However, Reschinsky emphasized: “The company still has to move if it doesn’t want to risk further strikes.”
Verdi charges 12.5 percent more money for ground staff for a term of twelve months, while the company has previously offered 10 percent for a term of 28 months. After four rounds of negotiations, an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros is comparatively undisputed.
Lufthansa demands solutions at the negotiating table
Lufthansa’s human resources director Michael Niggemann appealed to the unions on Tuesday: “We have made good, far-reaching offers at both Verdi and Ufo, both with salary increases of around ten percent,” said Niggemann. “I think this is the basis for finding short-term solutions. We are ready to negotiate.”
Verdi corporate advisor Reschinsky countered this: “The Lufthansa human resources director has emphasized several times that Lufthansa has presented a good offer. Now we will see what the company offers so that it will also be a good offer from our point of view.”
Source: Stern
