At the Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines (AUA), a works meeting today ended in a two-hour warning strike. The 1,200 participants in the meeting had decided this unanimously, a spokeswoman for the Vida union said.
Numerous departures and arrivals were affected by the work stoppage, which was expected to last until the early afternoon. Passengers had to expect delays, rebooking and flight cancellations.
The reason for the labor dispute is the recently broken off collective bargaining on inflation compensation for the cabin crew. The collective bargaining partners had already agreed on a salary increase of seven percent last October. In view of the significantly higher inflation, the union is demanding a noticeable improvement for the 3,200 employees in the cockpit and in the cabin.
The 2020 negotiated waiver of up to 15 percent of the salary in the Corona crisis years was ended early at the end of the year. According to the management, all employees will also receive a three-step cost-of-living bonus of up to 3,000 euros. In 2022, Austrian Airlines had achieved earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), adjusted for special effects, of three million euros. In 2021 there was still a loss of 249 million euros.
