Lufthansa Pilots Vote for Strike

In a strike ballot, a very clear majority voted in favor of industrial action at the Lufthansa core company and the freight subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo, as the union Vereinigung Cockpit announced.

No specific strike date at Lufthansa yet

A specific strike date was not initially mentioned. The union's bargaining committee is to decide on the further course of action. In the past, Lufthansa had canceled almost the entire program during comprehensive pilot strikes for the affected period.

According to VC, 90 percent of Lufthansa pilots and 95 percent of Lufthansa Cargo pilots participated in the vote. They supported the industrial action by 88 percent and 96 percent, respectively. The strike ballot was thus accepted.

At least 70 percent yes votes from the affected members in the companies Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo were required for the strike ballot. Abstentions and non-participation in the vote were counted as no votes. Most recently, Lufthansa pilots went on strike for one day in 2022.

Lufthansa dispute over company pensions

The labor dispute concerns the company pensions of around 4,800 pilots. The union entered the negotiations with a demand to triple the employer's contribution and then reduced this over the course of seven rounds of talks. However, an agreement was not reached.

"Retirement provision is a central foundation of life planning for pilots - at least as important as the statutory pension," explains the spokesperson for the bargaining committee, Arne Karstens. "We now expect Lufthansa to take the signals from the workforce seriously and finally present a negotiable offer for company pensions."

The recently deficit-ridden Lufthansa core company is currently undergoing a tough restructuring program. Its CEO Jens Ritter had stated that there are simply no funds available to increase the "already very good" company pension scheme.

Corporate Strategy Does Not Suit Lufthansa Pilots

On Monday, the Lufthansa board also reaffirmed its strategy to investors to relocate smaller Lufthansa aircraft and thus pilot jobs to other airlines with significantly lower labor costs. By 2030, around half of the short- and medium-haul jets are expected to be operated by airlines outside the Lufthansa core. For this purpose, the company has specifically established the Discover and City Airlines operations.

Internally, both the VC and the flight attendant representation Ufo, which has also declared its collective bargaining negotiations to have failed, are opposing this strategy. However, strategic corporate decisions cannot be struck against, as they are not subject to collective agreements.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.