One day before Christmas Eve, the Verband Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union went on strike at the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines. The warning strike, which was limited to five hours, had no serious consequences for most passengers on Saturday: the company had drawn up an alternative flight plan after the strike was announced.
The industrial dispute is about the first collective agreement for pilots of the airline, which was founded a good two years ago and operates from the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. The VC had previously complained about the employer’s stalling tactics.
In Frankfurt, some short and medium-haul flights were rescheduled in the morning before the strike time, which also led to earlier return flights from holiday destinations. The flights in Munich were to be handled by the parent company Lufthansa.
Deadlocked negotiations
“By adjusting the flight schedule and bringing forward and delaying individual flights, no Discover Airlines flights had to be canceled due to the strike,” Discover announced after the warning strike. The airline apologized to affected passengers. We are working hard to rebook individual guests and to bring all affected passengers on their Christmas vacation or home in time.
According to the union, the reason for the warning strike was the stalled negotiations over the first collective agreement at the flight company. The VC explained that the employer and the union were now well on the way to reaching at least a partial agreement. However, the employers had until the end “used a stalling tactic by pulling concessions off the table and at the same time demanding new conditions for tariff classification,” criticized the VC. You need safe framework conditions for the cockpit staff.
The company, however, reported “very good advanced discussions”. We are on the home stretch towards concluding a collective agreement. “Partial agreements have already been reached and there is a clear intention to continue negotiations in January and to reach a conclusion quickly,” said a spokeswoman. Solutions can only be found at the negotiating table and we are ready to continue the joint discussions at any time.
