On Friday, the Munich Labor Court rejected the airline’s application for a temporary cessation of the pilots’ strike. At the core of the conflict is the demand by the Vereinigung Cockpit trade union for compensation for the currently high inflation. The day-long strike by Lufthansa pilots brought almost all of the airline’s flight operations to a standstill on Friday.
According to the judiciary, Lufthansa argued that the demand for higher collective wages by means of automatic inflation compensation was an illegal strike goal. “The chamber did not follow that,” the court said, but expressed concerns about the pilots’ claim. They then changed their demands and now want a “flat-rate” compensation for inflation.
800 connections are omitted
The 24-hour labor dispute largely paralyzed the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich on Friday. All departures from Germany are on strike. Lufthansa had to cancel around 800 connections. Around 130,000 passengers are affected by this – and that at the end of the summer holidays in several federal states. Four flights to and from Frankfurt were also affected by the strike at Vienna Airport.
The VC had declared the negotiations about higher salaries to have failed and called on the more than 5,000 cockpit employees to walk out. Lufthansa tries to rebook as many passengers as possible on later connections, other airlines or trains. The situation at Frankfurt Airport was calm because travelers had been informed the day before.
Not the first strike
It is not the first strike to hit Lufthansa this summer: a few weeks ago, a one-day strike by Lufthansa ground staff caused more than 1,000 flight cancellations. According to Remco Steenbergen, the day of the strike cost Lufthansa CFO Remco Steenbergen 30 to 35 million euros. After that, an agreement was reached with the Verdi union within a short period of time.
According to the VC, the social partners are still far apart in the collective bargaining dispute with the pilots. The union insists on real wage security in times of high inflation and improvements in the tariff structure for young professionals. With retrospective effect from July 1, remuneration is to increase by 5.5 percent.
Flat-rate inflation compensation of 8.2 percent required
Originally, the pilots wanted automatic inflation compensation from 2023, which would be paid out retrospectively based on annual inflation with a surcharge. The written judgment stated that VC no longer adhered to this requirement and had changed it during the negotiation to a flat-rate inflation adjustment of 8.2 percent. “Of course we will continue to demand appropriate inflation compensation,” the union said, without giving details.
Lufthansa announced that it would not appeal. The airline put its offer for 18 months at 900 euros more basic remuneration per month. The starting salaries rose by more than 18 percent, the top salary group would get five percent more.
Source: Nachrichten
