Flight cancellations loom

Lufthansa ground staff on strike from Tuesday morning

The trade union Verdi is once again calling on Lufthansa ground staff to strike.

(Bild: AFP/Christof Stache)

More than 100,000 Lufthansa customers will again have to prepare for flight cancellations and delays on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Verdi union is once again calling ground staff to strike in the current collective bargaining round. The union announced on Sunday that employees are to strike from 4 a.m. on Tuesday until 7.10 a.m. on Wednesday. The airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart are affected. 

The reason for the work stoppage: Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky described Lufthansa's current offer as "blatantly anti-social".

Over 100,000 passengers affected
According to Lufthansa, it is working on a special flight plan. However, "over 100,000 passengers are once again affected", the airline explained. "This is not the way to fulfill our shared responsibility for our employees, for our guests, for a strong and reliable Lufthansa", explained Lufthansa Chief Human Resources Officer Michael Niggemann. "Our goal remains a quick agreement, and that can only be reached at the negotiating table."

The wage negotiations are to continue on Wednesday. Lufthansa presented a new offer last week. According to the airline, it provides for a salary increase of at least around 10 percent within twelve months and a "prompt payment" of tax-free inflation compensation bonuses totaling 3,000 euros. The collective agreement is to run for 25 months.

12.5 percent salary increase demanded
Verdi is demanding a 12.5 percent pay rise for the 25,000 Lufthansa ground staff and at least 500 euros per month for a period of twelve months. Verdi is also demanding a bonus of 3,000 euros to compensate for inflation. "Once again, the ground staff feel that they have been left out in the cold," explained Reschinsky on the current Lufthansa offer.

Verdi also announced that rallies are planned at Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg airports during the warning strike. A 27-hour strike at the beginning of February had largely paralyzed flight operations at the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Around 900 of 1,000 planned flights were canceled, affecting around 100,000 passengers, according to Lufthansa.

Discover Airlines pilots also on strike
Meanwhile, a three-day strike by pilots at Lufthansa vacation airline Discover Airlines, called by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union, will continue until Monday evening.

According to the company, eight out of 19 flights operated by the airline from Frankfurt and Munich will be canceled on Sunday. Passengers will be rebooked on flights operated by other Lufthansa airlines. On Saturday, a third of Discover flights were unable to take off as planned. The VC wants to enforce the first collective wage agreement at the still young airline, which has a fleet of 24 aircraft and around 400 cockpit employees.

The strike by Discover Airlines pilots is due to end on Monday evening.

(Bild: glomex)

The airline recently concluded an agreement with the works council which, according to the VC, corresponds to the almost finalized collective wage agreement. However, the union is insisting on a collective agreement for which, in contrast to the company agreement, a strike can be called. The airline declared itself ready for further wage talks. The VC called on cockpit staff at parent company Lufthansa to strike in solidarity with Discover employees on Monday morning. This affects four long-haul flights with the Boeing 787.