Lufthansa will cancel 800 flights on Friday (2 September) after pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit declared a breakdown in negotiations over a pay dispute. The one-day strike will likely affect 130,000 passengers departing from airports in Germany.
The VC union, which represents 9,600 members, said the carrier “took advantage” of the negotiation process after deadlines to provide a “sufficient” offer were revised and the union’s demands still not met.
On Wednesday VC union spokesperson, Matthias Baier, said “negotiations have failed” and “the only thing left for us to do is to reinforce our demands with a labour dispute”.
“In order to avert labour disputes, Lufthansa must present a significantly improved offer," added Marcel Gröls, chairman of the union’s collective bargaining policy. "We're too far apart at the moment. In addition to compensating for the loss in real wages, what we now need above all is a future-proof solution for the remuneration structure in all occupational groups.”
The carrier has hit back saying it put forward a “very good offer” that included a €900 increase in monthly base salary for pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, as well as a new perspective agreement to guarantee pilots a minimum fleet size.
Lufthansa chief human resources officer and labour director, Michael Niggemann, said: “We cannot understand VC's call for a strike. The management has made a very good and socially balanced offer – despite the continuing burdens of the Covid crisis and uncertain prospects for the global economy. This escalation comes at the expense of many thousands of customers."
According to the carrier, the union’s demands, which include a 5.5 per cent wage increase by the end of the year as a first step, would increase payroll costs by more than 40 per cent – or approximately €900 million – over the next two years.
“Even without taking the financial consequences of the Covid crisis into account, this is not acceptable,” the carrier said in a statement.