The Lufthansa pilots voted by a large majority for a strike – collective bargaining is deadlocked.
Berlin – Is Lufthansa threatening the next strike? In a ballot, the members of the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union voted by a large majority in favor of a possible strike in order to reinforce their wage demands against Lufthansa.
Lufthansa: Pilots vote for a possible strike
With a participation of 93.2 percent at Deutsche Lufthansa, 97.6 percent supported the goals of the wage commission, Cockpit announced on Sunday. The result “does not necessarily lead to strike action”, but is “an unmistakable signal to Lufthansa that it takes the needs of the cockpit staff seriously”.
“Warning signal” to the Lufthansa board
This means that a strike by around 5,000 Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots is possible with immediate effect, but was not initially called. Even before the count, the VC tariff expert Marcel Gröls had explained that it was initially a “warning signal” to the Lufthansa board. “Good offers” are now expected from the management. The negotiations have not yet been declared a failure by either side.
Only on Wednesday did the Verdi union almost paralyze flight operations at Lufthansa for a whole day with a warning strike by ground staff. More than 1,000 flights were canceled and around 134,000 passengers had to change their travel plans. Verdi had not held a ballot beforehand. Companies and politicians had criticized the length and scope of the work stoppages. Negotiations are scheduled to resume on Wednesday (3 August). (ml/afp/dpa)
