Airline giant Lufthansa Group has announced a new collective bargaining deal with the union representing more than 20,000 ground staff.
The company said that 26-month pay deal with the Verdi union would see workers in Germany receive a 4.6 per cent rise in two stages from 1 January 2026. Verdi represents around 20 per cent of Lufthansa Group’s entire workforce.
Executive board member Michael Niggemann, who is responsible for human resources and legal affairs, said the agreement with Verdi was a “good compromise” without any strikes.
“This agreement sends a clear message in times of geopolitical crises and their resulting impact on the global economy: We are a responsible employer for our employees. Furthermore, the long-term nature of the agreement guarantees reliability,” added Niggemann.
“After challenging negotiations, we succeeded in reaching a good compromise together at the negotiating table – without industrial action and without burdens – to our customers or additional economic disruptions.”
Lufthansa has also this month made a new offer to pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) to try to settle an ongoing dispute over the company’s pension plan, which has led to two major strikes by pilots so far this year. The company described its new proposal as a “comprehensive pension package”.
The airline group and union have agreed to negotiate over ongoing issues around pensions, although VC initially said in a statement that it could not “see any significant change” in Lufthansa’s latest proposal.