LUFTHANSA Pilots Agree To Long Term Labor Peace
Earlier today, Lufthansa Pilots ratified a proposal that will put to end a long running labor dispute between Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and the Airline.
The new deal, approved by 80% of LH’s pilots, is in place through June 2022 and addresses most issues that led to the myriad of strikes that affected passengers over the last couple of years. Most of the discord between pilots and Lufthansa had been pension plans for pilots before they reach full retirement age and job security for existing pilots.
Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and Eurowing pilots will receive a 10.2 percent raise in increments between now and June 2022 as well as an immediate bonus of 1.8 months worth of salary.
The deal also includes guarantees that Lufthansa will operate a minimum of aircraft between now and the deal’s expiration in 2022, along with an agreement for collective bargaining for future negotiations. Specifically, 325 aircraft need to be in service that are piloted by LH, LH Cargo, or Germanwings pilots.
For pilots, they also agreed to migrate their retirement plan from a defined benefit program to a defined contribution program, which reduces the stress on Lufthansa as far as funding retirement plans is concerned.
So it looks like we can fly the crane for the next 4.5 years without worrying about any flights being cancelled due to strike actions by the pilots.
