Due to a warning strike by ground staff, Lufthansa travelers will have to prepare for greater restrictions on Wednesday. The Verdi service union called on Lufthansa ground staff to stop working. As Verdi announced, the Lufthansa locations in Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf will be affected from Wednesday at 4:00 a.m. to Thursday at 7:10 a.m. The background is the ongoing collective bargaining for the approximately 25,000 ground employees in group companies such as Deutsche Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo.
Increase pressure on employers in collective bargaining
Verdi According to Lufthansa, it has so far submitted a “completely inadequate offer” in the negotiations. This offer was “widely discussed in the companies and criticized as inadequate and divisive,” the union explained.
According to Verdi, an inadequate offer has been presented in the negotiations so far. Specifically criticized are the eight zero months without compensation development at the beginning, the low increase increments, the 36-month term and completely unanswered demands. For example, the offer provides for an average increase of less than two percent in the first year, said Verdi. In addition, employees outside Lufthansa Technik should receive a lower inflation compensation bonus.
With the all-day warning strike, Verdi wants to increase the pressure on employers to present a significantly improved offer in the next round of negotiations on February 12th in Frankfurt am Main. Since the entire ground staff, from maintenance to passenger and aircraft handling, has been called on a warning strike, according to Verdi, there will likely be “major flight cancellations and delays.” It is assumed that 80 to 90 percent of the Lufthansa program and that of its subsidiaries will be discontinued. Around 400 Lufthansa flights are planned for Wednesday at Munich Airport alone.
Lufthansa criticizes the union
Lufthansa is expecting major impacts. The airline said more than a hundred thousand passengers would be affected by the consequences of a special flight schedule. This is currently being developed. The company criticized the union’s actions. Even before the actual negotiations began, the length and extent of the strike were completely incomprehensible, it was said. Human resources director Michael Niggemann said that the warning strike, planned for 27 hours, would place a disproportionate burden on guests and employees. The employer side has already submitted a concrete offer.