Lufthansa tries to stop further strike action with new offer to VC pilots’ union

In an attempt to avoid further industrial dispute, Lufthansa has made Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the pilots’ Union, a new offer – a 4.4% increase in remuneration along with a one-off payment. The increase in remuneration would be in two tranches, 2.4% for 2016 and 2% FOR 2017. Lufthansa believes this offer meets a key VC demand.
Harry Hohmeister, Chief Officer Hub Management of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said at a union information event, “We want to urgently avoid any further damage to our company and finally return to offering our passengers the kind of service they can expect from us and that’s why we submitted a new offer to the VC yesterday evening.”
Bettina Volkens, Chief Officer Corporate Human Resources & Legal Affairs of Deutsche Lufthansa AG underlined that: “We want to get back to the negotiating table as quickly as possible. As desired by the VC, we can then successively negotiate on all the currently open collective labor agreement issues, and this, in turn, should lead us back to long-term industrial peace and a sound social partnership.”
The offer comes as a result of the latest wave of strikes ordered by VC which has cost the carrier millions of dollars, having had to cancel approximately 4,450 flights which affected around 545,000 passengers. It is hoped that the offer will end the strike action and that normal flight schedules will resume on Thursday.
The pay dispute has been festering for some two years and has seen 14 strikes as a consequence. On Monday, the carrier sought an injunction from a Munich labor court to stop Tuesday’s walk out, but this was not granted; Lufthansa having failed the previous week to convince two Frankfurt courts to halt the strikes, though it is still “examining further legal steps.”