It seems that peace has broken out with Lufthansa and the Ver.di Union, with the two agreeing on a new collective wage agreement.
The agreement covers approximately 20,000 ground staff of Deutsche Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo, and other companies.
The wage agreement includes pay increases of around 12.5 per cent in two steps, disproportionately in the lower and middle-income groups. Lufthansa and Verdi have thus reached an agreement as part of the arbitration process with Thuringia’s Minister President Bodo Ramelow and Dr. Frank-Jürgen Weise, the former head of the Federal Employment Agency, and have settled the wage dispute that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year
The agreement covers the next 24 months between the group and the union but is subject to approval by the committees and its memberships.
In Quotes
Dr. Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG:
“We are very pleased that we have come to a compromise together, and my express thanks also go to the two arbitrators. The past few weeks have demanded a great deal from both our guests and our colleagues. The agreement that has now been reached is therefore good news. Our employees will benefit from significant and sustainable pay rises – we know what our colleagues achieve every day, and it is important to us that salaries develop appropriately and well. At the same time, both our guests and our companies finally have planning security again in this regard. The agreement is of course a major economic challenge for us, to which we must now find answers. In any case, together we will focus all our energy on what makes us special: being a reliable partner for our customers and therefore an attractive employer with excellent perspectives for our employees.”
Bodo Ramelow, Minister President of Thuringia:
“I am very grateful that I was able to make my personal contribution to settling this wage dispute. The agreement is a great success for Lufthansa employees – and also for passengers, who now have planning security again and do not have to worry about strikes. As a regular Lufthansa customer, I am particularly pleased about this. I would like to thank the representatives of the trade union Verdi and Lufthansa for three constructive and solution-oriented days of negotiations, which were characterized by trust and a willingness to compromise.”
Dr. Frank-Jürgen Weise, former head of the Federal Employment Agency:
“The agreed collective agreement is good for the employees. For Lufthansa, the agreement is a major economic challenge in an international environment in which many nations heavily subsidize their ‘critical infrastructure’. The negotiations between Lufthansa and Verdi were difficult in terms of the variety of issues, the different levels of services demanded and offered, but also factually sound and humanly respectful. The arbitrators felt that they were acting in the interests of the employees, the welfare of the company, and the customers.”
ver.di negotiator Marvin Reschinsky:
“We fought hard for this compromise and we can now be very satisfied. We have achieved real real wage increases and will thus compensate for the decline of the last few years. In addition to the linear increase, the result provides for a number of improvements, such as aligning the eastern collective agreements with western levels or reintroducing the shift allowance. This result is historic.”
One down, one to go
Settling with Ver.di is an important step for Lufthansa, which has had more than its share of outright cancellations with union members choosing to support the strike, with multiple days of services completely disrupted.
And after at least 10 days of disruption, maybe coming to an agreement with the union was its only cost-effective option.
Lufthansa still has to handle relationships with other unions – notably, the UFO union which is demanding rises and has taken its members out on strike once already.
Negotiations will be tough – and it will be up to all sides if passengers fly… or if they’re grounded, with crews walking out.
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