The collective bargaining dispute between Lufthansa ground staff and the employer is heading towards arbitration. Both the Verdi union and Lufthansa are aiming for arbitration proceedings as quickly as possible, the company announced on Thursday. A duty of peace should apply during the mediation. A Verdi spokeswoman also confirmed the dpa’s intention to mediate. The company said it was not possible to agree on a new collective agreement for the approximately 20,000 employees of ground staff, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo and other companies during the round of negotiations on Wednesday and Thursday.
According to a statement, Lufthansa Human Resources Director Michael Niggemann said that they had come closer to a solution, but that it had not yet been finalized. “Together we now want to clarify the open points with the help of mediation in order to then reach an agreement.” Last week, hundreds of Lufthansa flights were canceled due to a warning strike by ground staff organized by Verdi. For passengers, however, an agreement in the ground staff’s collective bargaining dispute would only mean a small relief, as several collective bargaining disputes in German air traffic are still open.