In the industrial dispute at the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines, the Cockpit union is increasing the pressure. For the first time, she called on long-haul pilots from the parent company Lufthansa to go on strike in solidarity with their Discover colleagues. The support campaign announced on Friday is limited to the Boeing 787 fleet, which only has a few aircraft. There will be a strike on five departures from Frankfurt between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Monday morning (February 19). Other takeoffs with other aircraft types are not affected.
Before this strike call at the parent company, the company had announced that two thirds of all planned flights could take place this Saturday despite the pilots’ strike at its subsidiary Discover. Passengers on canceled connections would be informed immediately and rebooked on flights from other companies.
The comparatively small holiday airline Discover, with 24 Airbus jets and around 420 pilots, only departs from Frankfurt and Munich and is primarily intended to compete with Condor in the tourist business.
The Cockpit Association has called on its members to go on a three-day strike from Saturday to Monday to force a first collective agreement at the airline, which was founded in the summer of 2021. The pilots have already staged a five-hour warning strike and two regular strikes since December. Within the Lufthansa Group, the VC has established a joint tariff commission for the German companies.
According to its own information, Discover already pays higher pilot salaries, but it agreed these with the works council and not with the union. The new salaries correspond exactly to the demands of the VC, as both sides have confirmed. The union wants to continue the industrial action, although its material demands initially appear to have been largely implemented. The VC criticized that a works agreement does not achieve the legal quality and security of a collective agreement with the union. In addition, the company demanded a so-called social partnership charter as a prerequisite, which restricts the fundamental rights of the union.
In view of Discover’s “continued refusal attitude”, support and expression of solidarity are unfortunately necessary, said VC tariff expert Marcel Gröls. “Unfortunately, we are now at exactly the point that we would have liked to have avoided and that could have been completely avoidable.”
Solidarity or support strikes are generally permitted under German labor law as long as they remain proportionate and appear suitable to support the main industrial action.
