The Verdi Trade Union and Lufthansa Agree to Resolve Disputes

After several rounds of unproductive negotiations between the Verdi trade union and Lufthansa regarding wage increases for the airline's ground staff, the parties decided to reach a resolution through arbitration and mediation. Lufthansa announced this on Thursday, March 14. The company stated, "The arbitration process should reach a conclusion calmly, without conflict, and as quickly as possible." The Verdi union has requested that Lufthansa reach a satisfactory outcome by the end of this month and recognize it. The union also announced that it would hold a vote for upcoming strikes among its members starting next week. The union is demanding a 5.12% wage increase for approximately 25,000 employees over 12 months, in addition to a 3,000 euro inflation compensation bonus. Last month, Lufthansa's ground staff went on strike twice at major airports, affecting the travel of 100,000 passengers. Negotiations regarding the wages of about 20,000 flight attendants at the airline are still ongoing. In recent weeks, many employees affiliated with the Verdi union have gone on strike due to "dissatisfaction with wages," impacting Germany's public transport system. These strikes continue in some cities across the country. Part of this collective bargaining between Verdi and Lufthansa employers in Germany has not yielded results so far. Over the past months, two waves of "warning" strikes occurred in Germany, each paralyzing passenger traffic for about a day. So far, no agreement on higher wages has been reached in five rounds of collective negotiations with the Federal Association of Aviation Security Companies. In recent months, flight security staff at some of Germany's largest airports, including Frankfurt, have gone on strike. The latest strike by Lufthansa security staff occurred on February 1, resulting in the cancellation of about 1,000 flights and impacting Europe's largest economy. Lufthansa employees in Germany are set to strike over the weekend, and the German government continues to face dissatisfaction from farmers.