EThere are many things that Deutsche Lufthansa would probably rather talk about: new aircraft, the new interior design for long-haul flights, which will premiere in 2024 after delays, or planned records with holidaymakers – the subsidiary Eurowings wants to fly to Mallorca 400 times a week in the summer .
But while snow and ice are affecting operations, there is growing concern that soon it will not be the freak weather that will cause disruptions, but rather tariff conflicts. There are a number of these in the group. There are already whispers at headquarters that collective bargaining issues could become very dominant in 2024. Means: danger of strikes.
Negotiations began this Thursday with the Verdi union, which are of particular importance to the group. It's about the ground staff at counters, in aircraft handling, in cargo operations and in maintenance – around 20,000 employees. In addition, solutions must be found for flight attendants from the core brand Lufthansa, for pilots and flight attendants from the subsidiary Cityline and Eurowings, as well as for the holiday flight branch Discover.
“Employees are working to the limit”
And while the lengthy discussions with Verdi are just beginning, the Discover pilots are one escalation level further. The Cockpit Association (VC) union has declared the failure of the first negotiations for the young operating unit. After a warning strike before Christmas, she is now putting a vote on a larger strike. There should be a result next week.
Verdi doesn't want to make things easy for the company either. “The employees are working to the limit. They suffer from a lack of staff and work intensification,” said negotiator Marvin Reschinsky. Lufthansa did not object to the shortage, but announced that it would hire 13,000 people this year. One in three of these should come in addition. “In our industry, success depends on those who do their best every day to delight our customers,” said Human Resources Director Michael Niggemann.
12.5 percent more required
In addition to nice words, Verdi also wants higher salaries – 12.5 percent more, as well as an end to the Eastern collective agreements, which provide for longer working hours with the same pay, and a greater appreciation of shift work. New staff can only be acquired “with significant salary increases and attractive working conditions”.
Lufthansa believes this to be wrong. The search for employees for the new City Airlines operating unit, which starts in the summer, led to a rush of applicants, without any future increases being fixed. Lufthansa Verdi has not yet made its own offer. In the collective bargaining round a year and a half ago, there were 8.3 percent more for upper income groups and up to 19.2 percent for the lower income groups.
“The time of frugality is over”
In a company like Lufthansa with numerous parts of the company in which several trade unions operate according to professional groups, negotiations are always explosive. A high degree creates desire elsewhere. The UFO union is demanding 15 percent more for the core brand's flight attendants. However, the board expects to realize that the business on holiday routes or feeder flights generates less profit than long-distance flights, which is why subsidiaries can only fly profitably with lower tariffs.
At UFO, the talks for the Cityline operation, which specializes in short-haul routes, are a worrying topic. This will probably be resolved sooner or later. Lufthansa has the idea that the staff will move to the new – almost identically named – City Airlines. UFO sees open questions and has announced that “the time for frugality is over” for the next talks.
Another hurdle in negotiations appears to be the company's desire to establish a social partner charter in addition to tariffs. It should contain rules for dealing with one another and for strikes, for example with mediation requirements and notice periods for strikes. The charter was probably first an issue in the negotiations for the Discover pilots, which the VC declared to be a failure. She complained that concessions had been withdrawn and new conditions had been set at the same time.
Despite the many hurdles, Lufthansa wants to resolve all conflicts by summer in order to prevent a holiday season with strikes. Travelers could still face hardship. Collective bargaining for security checks at airports has stalled; employers have demanded a binding arbitration agreement and a waiver of retroactive surcharges, which Verdi rejects.
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