One of Lufthansa’s main unions has called on its ground staff to hold a strike on Wednesday over a pay dispute involving 25,000 employees whose purchasing power has been eroded by inflation.
Verdi, the union, called for the strike from 04:00 on Wednesday to 07:10 on Thursday to “increase pressure” on the management. According to a statement, it is seeking a 12.5% salary increase for 12 months.
Major German airports, including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, and Düsseldorf, will be affected.
Lufthansa is working on a "special flight plan" that will target "over a hundred thousand passengers", stated the company.
The stoppage will affect all ground workers, including those in maintenance and passenger and aircraft handling. The union predicts that significant flight cancellations and delays will likely occur.
Verdi is demanding at least an additional €500 on the monthly payslip and a €3,000 inflation compensation bonus. Furthermore, shift arrangements should be improved.
Lufthansa, on the other hand, has put forward an offer which includes wage increases of "over 13 percent" spread over three years and payments of “substantial inflation compensation bonuses.”
The union has deemed the management’s offer as utterly insufficient, prompting the warning strike even before formal negotiations have begun.
Lufthansa employees "have already about 10 percent less in their pockets than three years ago" due to inflation. Meanwhile, the group is posting "record profits" coming out of the Covid-19 crisis, argues Marvin Reschinsky, Verdi’s lead negotiator.
This labour dispute will affect Lufthansa and its subsidiaries in areas like maintenance and freight handling.
Negotiations between the union and management are set to resume in Frankfurt on 12 February.
