In air transport, collective bargaining parties and an arbitrator are looking for solutions to two different collective bargaining disputes that have already led to strikes this year. The company and the UFO union have now postponed the round of negotiations on a collective agreement for Lufthansa cabin crew that began the previous day until next week, as Lufthansa announced.
Arbitration also began for around 25,000 employees of private aviation security service providers who check passengers, luggage, freight and personnel at airports outside Bavaria on behalf of the Federal Police. Under the guidance of the former Bremen Finance State Councilor Hans-Henning Lühr (SPD), the Verdi union and the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies (BDLS) are looking for a solution to their deadlocked negotiations.
The collective bargaining parties have initially given themselves until midnight on Sunday as a deadline for the talks. Verdi has committed itself not to call for work stoppages again until the end of the arbitration.
According to the union, even after six rounds of negotiations, all the details of a collective agreement are still unclear. The main sticking point still seems to be the overtime bonuses, which Verdi demands “from the first overtime hour onwards”. According to the BDLS negotiator Frank Haindl, the companies have accommodated the employees on the issue of overtime bonuses starting earlier.
According to their own statements, the employers recently offered a three-stage increase in hourly wages of 3.25 euros for a period of 24 months. Verdi had asked for an hourly wage of 2.80 euros more, but for a term of 12 months. The expected recommendation of the arbitrator Lühr is not binding for both sides. It was agreed not to disclose any incidents.
Union demands inflation compensation bonus
At Lufthansa, the UFO union is demanding 15 percent more money for a contract term of 18 months for the approximately 18,000 flight attendants at Lufthansa as well as for their 1,000 colleagues at the regional subsidiary Cityline. The union also wants to achieve an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros and higher allowances. However, negotiations are currently only taking place for employees of the main airline.
Most recently, UFO paralyzed Lufthansa’s flight operations with a strike on March 12th. The cabin union decided against another strike over Easter. On Thursday, Ufo also reported on progress at the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines, which had previously had no fares. The dispute over Discover also put a strain on the negotiations at Lufthansa’s parent company.
The collective bargaining dispute among Lufthansa ground staff had already been resolved through arbitration last week. In addition to the inflation compensation bonus, the approximately 25,000 employees are to receive average salary increases of 12.5 percent within 24 months.