Lufthansa has made pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit a pay rise offer in an effort to end extensive industrial action that has gripped the carrier over the last week.
The airline says that it sent the union yesterday a proposal of raising wages 2.4% this year and 2% in 2017 – plus a one-off payment – which is “not linked to any other terms or conditions”.
On 25 November, Lufthansa had published a mediation offer that included the same percentage increases. But it was part of a proposal that included savings in other areas, such as pension changes.
Union board member Jorg Handwerg said on 25 November that pay mediation talks alone based on a 4.4% pay rise plus a one-off payment were feasible.
Lufthansa Group chief officer corporate human resources and legal affairs Bettina Volkens says the airline is “immediately available to begin preparations for mediation on the collective labour agreement on remuneration together with the VC [union] on the basis of this offer”.
She adds: “As desired by the VC, we can then successively negotiate on all the currently-open collective labor agreement issues.”
Since 23 November, the union has staged six strike days that have led in total to the cancellation of around 4,450 flights and affected 525,000 passengers.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
