Lufthansa has struck a new labour deal covering ground staff represented by German trade union Verdi, ending a deadlock which had resulted in disruption to the carrier’s services earlier this year.
The two-year deal, which covers around 20,000 ground staff working for Luthansa’s mainline operation as well as other German units including Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Technik, includes a pay increase worth around 12.5% in two stages. The deal comes after the sides entered a formal arbitration process following strikes earlier this year.
Lufthansa ’s chief human resources officer Michael Niggemann says: ”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.”
But he adds: “The agreement is of course a major economic challenge for us, to which we must now find answers.”
Alongside strike disruption from ground staff, Lufthansa this month also was forced to cancel flights following a walkout by cabin crew represented by the UFO union.
