After the ground staff of the German AUA parent company Lufthansa paralyzed air traffic for a whole day on Wednesday, the pilots are now preparing for a labor dispute. In a ballot, the voting members of the Cockpit Association (VC) voted in favor of a labor dispute with a very clear majority. The union reported on Sunday after counting the votes.
This means that a strike by around 5,000 pilots at the Lufthansa core brand is possible with immediate effect, but this has not initially been requested from the Executive Board. Even before the count, the VC tariff expert Marcel Gröls had explained that it was initially a “warning signal” to the Lufthansa board. “Good offers” are now expected from the management. The collective bargaining has not yet been declared a failure by either side.
According to VC, 97.6 percent of the participants at Lufthansa Passenger Airlines voted for a strike. At the freight subsidiary Cargo, approval was even higher at 99.3 percent. According to the union, participation was over 93 percent in both flight operations. Approval from more than 70 percent of all those entitled to vote was required.
The VC evaluated the result of the vote as proof of the great support for the goals of the Group Collective Bargaining Commission. “We now need a modern and fair, internationally competitive remuneration structure in all professional groups,” explained Gröls. The positive ballot does not necessarily lead to strike action. But it is an unmistakable signal to Lufthansa that it takes the needs of the cockpit staff seriously.
It was only on Wednesday that the German union Verdi almost paralyzed the flight operations of the largest German airline with a warning strike by ground staff. More than 1,000 flights were canceled and around 134,000 passengers had to change their travel plans. Verdi had not held a ballot beforehand. Businesses and politicians had criticized the length and scope of the work stoppages. Negotiations are scheduled to resume on Wednesday (3 August).
According to insiders, the pilots’ union could be ready for a strike before the end of the holiday season. In previous years, September was also a particularly busy month, so that a strike at this time would also have a severe impact on the company.
The reason for the strike preparations of the VC are the deadlocked after six rounds of talks about a new wage agreement. From the VC point of view, Lufthansa has not yet submitted a negotiable offer. According to its own statements, the VC demands, among other things, salary increases of 5.5 percent in the current year and an automated inflation adjustment from the coming year. She had terminated the previous collective agreement on June 30th.
Source: Nachrichten
