The next strike is beginning in the Lufthansa Group. At the still young company Discover, three unions are jockeying for the right to conclude a collective agreement.
Passengers on the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines must expect flight cancellations and delays this week. The unions Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and Ufo have called on the crews to go on a four-day strike. The pilots and cabin crew are to stop work from this Tuesday (27 August) through to Friday (30 August), the unions in Frankfurt announced. All departures from Germany are affected. Previously, the employees had clearly spoken out in favor of industrial action in separate ballots.
The background to this is a conflict with the Verdi union, which concluded the first collective bargaining agreements for pilots and flight attendants at Discover, a young airline. The demands of Ufo and VC differ little in content, but the sector unions want to implement their own collective bargaining agreements. Verdi does not have enough members in flight operations and was appointed as a collective bargaining partner by Lufthansa management, they say.
The holiday airline Discover Airlines, founded in 2021, is starting with 27 aircraft from Munich and Frankfurt to various holiday destinations in Europe and overseas. The fleet is expected to grow to 33 aircraft by 2027. Around 1,900 people work on board, an unknown number of whom are unionized.
The VC pilots have already gone on strike three times this winter. The UFO also called on its members to stop work in order to force negotiations with management.
In addition to regular wage increases for both professional groups of between 16 and 38 percent until the end of 2027, the Verdi contract contains provisions for allowances and working hours, company pension schemes and assistance in the event of loss of a pilot’s license. For its own members, Verdi has stipulated extended protection against dismissal and an additional half-month’s salary.
The motto “Those who don’t join in will be fired sooner” has left Ufo stunned, said Ufo wage expert Harry Jaeger. “Unfortunately, the employers’ side has left us no choice but to take industrial action.”
For the unions VC and Ufo, it is also about influence in the parent company, in which they are firmly rooted in collective bargaining. Management has established two airlines, Discover Airlines and City Airlines, which have not yet been subject to collective bargaining, which can take over flights at lower costs that are currently flown by Lufthansa itself or its regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline. Their fleet could shrink in the future, meaning that jobs under traditional collective bargaining conditions will disappear.
Source: Stern
