The next strike in the Lufthansa Group is set to begin on Tuesday. Three unions are jockeying for influence at the young company Discover. Passengers are likely to feel the consequences clearly.
The Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines has criticized the industrial action planned for Tuesday by the unions Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and Ufo. “Discover Airlines strongly condemns the call for a strike by the two unions Ufo and VC,” the company said. It is completely irresponsible to call on employees to go on a four-day strike during peak travel season, even though a collective agreement has been reached with the union Verdi.
Collective bargaining agreements have been concluded for employees, which, among other things, guarantee salary increases of up to 38 percent in the cabin and around 16 percent in the cockpit, the airline explained. “The one-sided escalation of the sector unions since the announcement of the collective bargaining agreement with Verdi and the call for a strike show very clearly that the interests of Discover Airlines employees are not at stake here.” Ufo and VC made the passengers the victims of their political agenda.
Details on flight cancellations expected
VC and Ufo have called on the pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa Discover to go on strike from Tuesday to Friday (27 to 30 August). All departures from Germany are affected. Discover plans to announce figures on flight cancellations as a result of the strike on Monday afternoon. The first industrial action by VC and Ufo at the beginning of the year had limited effects.
The comparatively small holiday airline Discover Airlines, founded in 2021, is starting with 27 aircraft from Munich and Frankfurt to holiday destinations in Europe and overseas. The fleet is expected to grow to 33 aircraft by 2027. Around 1,900 people work on board.
The background to the strike is a conflict with Verdi, which concluded the first collective bargaining agreements for pilots and flight attendants at Discover at the young airline. The demands of Ufo and VC hardly differ from each other, 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 believe.
Source: Stern
