Airlines

After Strikes, Lufthansa & Floor Employees Agree On New Contract

Right here’s some nice information for each Lufthansa floor employees and passengers…

Lufthansa & Verdi union agree on 24-month labor contract

Verdi is the commerce union representing round 25,000 Lufthansa floor employees throughout Germany, together with at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik, and Lufthansa Cargo. In latest weeks, floor employees have gone on strike on three totally different events, inconveniencing a numerous variety of passengers, and costing the airline lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.

There’s a constructive replace, as Lufthansa administration and the union have reached an settlement on a brand new contract, which might be in impact for not less than 24 months. That is nice information when it comes to operational reliability, although understand that flight attendants are nonetheless presently negotiating a brand new contract, so there’s a danger of strikes there.

This new labor contract was agreed upon as a part of the arbitration course of with Thuringia’s Minister President Bodo Ramelow, and the previous head of the Federal Employment Company, Frank-Jürgen Weise. Per the phrases of the brand new contract:

  • Floor employees will obtain a one-time cost of €3,000 to offset inflation; €2,000 might be paid as quickly as potential, whereas €1,000 might be paid by November 2024
  • Floor employees will obtain a mean wage improve of 12.5%; there might be a retroactive pay improve of seven.5% going again to January 1, 2024, and as of March 1, 2025, there might be a rise in renumeration of €150 monthly plus 2%
  • There are a number of different enhancements, together with will increase in ticket allowances, improve in vacation pay complement, extra versatile working hours, and extra

Right here’s how Lufthansa’s Chief Human Sources Officer, Michael Niggemann, describes the brand new contract:

“We’re more than happy that we’ve come to a compromise collectively, and my categorical thanks additionally go to the 2 arbitrators. The previous few weeks have demanded an incredible deal from each our friends and our colleagues. The settlement that has now been reached is subsequently excellent news. Our staff will profit from important and sustainable pay rises – we all know what our colleagues obtain every single day, and it is very important us that salaries develop appropriately and nicely. On the identical time, each our friends and our firms lastly have planning safety once more on this regard. The settlement is after all a significant financial problem for us, to which we should now discover solutions. In any case, collectively we are going to focus all our power on what makes us particular: being a dependable associate for our prospects and subsequently a lovely employer with wonderful views for our staff.” 

Lufthansa floor employees have a brand new contract

This looks like a giant win for workers & the union

Admittedly I haven’t been aware of the precise particulars of the negotiations, although my understanding all alongside has been that the union has been requesting a wage improve of round 12.5%, plus a one-time cost of €3,000 to offset inflation.

Finest I can inform, the union acquired… a wage improve of round 12.5%, plus a one-time cost of €3,000 to offset inflation. So so far as contract negotiations go, I’d say that’s a reasonably big win for the union.

In the meantime this looks like a failure for administration. Not solely is the airline incurring lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in losses from the strike, nevertheless it’s additionally paying important (and deserved) wage will increase.

Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr lately advised that internally the airline allocates the price of strikes to labor teams that go on strike. Maybe on this case, the price of the strike must be allotted to administration, and the price of it must be subtracted from their future bonuses? As a result of clearly the arbitration course of finally decided that the requests have been affordable sufficient, therefore the settlement.

This was a expensive negotiation for administration

Backside line

Lufthansa and the union representing floor employees have come to an settlement on a brand new contract. Floor employees on the airline are getting a roughly 12.5% pay improve, plus a one-time cost of €3,000. This comes after floor employees went on strike 3 times.

If I’m understanding this accurately, it feels like floor employees roughly bought precisely what they wished, whereas administration bought three strikes and better labor prices.

What do you make of Lufthansa & Verdi agreeing on a brand new contract?

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