Ver.di has once again called on Lufthansa ground staff to go on a warning strike. The strike will begin on Tuesday at 4 a.m. and end on Wednesday at 7:10 a.m. The airports affected include Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf and Berlin.
The service union ver.di has again called on Lufthansa’s ground staff to strike in the collective bargaining dispute. Accordingly, the employees should stop work from Tuesday from 4 a.m. to Wednesday at 7:10 a.m., the union said. The airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart are affected.
The collective bargaining partners were also unable to reach an agreement in the third round of negotiations on February 12th. The union explained that the employers’ offer had been widely discussed among the workforce in recent days. 96 percent of employees rejected it. Among other things, the significantly lower increases for ground workers compared to other professional groups in the group were criticized. The group is also not yet prepared to give employees back part of their lost income from the corona pandemic in times of record profits.
Ver.di: “Offended”
“The ground workers once again feel offended,” explained ver.di negotiator Marvin Reschinsky about Lufthansa’s current offer. While the group gives its pilots with annual basic incomes of up to 270,000 euros high double-digit pay increases, the ground workers with starting hourly wages of sometimes 13 euros should not even be compensated for the price increases of the last few years. This is “blatantly anti-social”.
The union is demanding – with reference to Lufthansa’s record profits and the increase in work – 12.5 percent more salary for the 25,000 employees on the ground, but at least 500 euros per month. For a term of twelve months, a group-wide inflation compensation premium of 3,000 euros is also required.
Next round of negotiations on Wednesday
Lufthansa criticized the planned warning strike, which was announced despite agreed dates for talks. The next round of negotiations will take place on Wednesday and Lufthansa has submitted a far-reaching offer. It provides for at least a 10 percent salary increase in 12 months as well as a “timely payment” of tax-free inflation compensation bonuses amounting to 3,000 euros. In the past 18 months, salaries for ground workers have increased by an average of 11.5 percent.
Lufthansa human resources director Michael Niggemann said that the further warning strike would once again place a disproportionate burden on both passengers and employees. “This is not the way to fulfill our shared responsibility for our employees, for our guests, for a strong and reliable Lufthansa.”
Ver.di negotiator Reschinsky said that the union also did not want this escalation. “We want a quick result for employees and passengers.” Management should have come to their senses after the last strike at the latest. Reschinsky accused the Lufthansa management of not being prepared to “negotiate about more than their only offer” at the last negotiation date.
According to the company, the strike will affect more than 100,000 passengers. The airline is currently working on a special flight schedule that will be published soon.
Wolfram Dietrich, NDR, tagesschau, February 18, 2024 2:04 p.m