by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 21, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike, Vereinigung Cockpit |
The union representing Lufthansa’s pilots has just announced a strike that can potentially affect all Lufthansa flights on November 23, 2016. Impacting one of the busiest travel days for US travelers.
The strike is set to start Wednesday, at 12:01a and last until midnight.
Right now it appears that ALL long haul and short haul flights operated by Lufthansa out of Germany will be impacted, but no specifics have been announced.
LH will publish an amended timetable on Tuesday, November 22 by noon local Frankfurt time (CET).
If you are traveling on the 23rd, you should call your local Lufthansa reservation office or travel agent for flight options.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 14, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike |
Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the union that represents LUFTHANSA pilots has announced today that a strike is imminent and offered to only provide a 24-hour warning ahead of the walk out.
The latest threat comes after negotiations fell apart between LH and the union. If the strike takes place, it will be the 14th that has been called due to the ongoing battle between union and LH management. The biggest issues continues to revolve around pilot benefits for early retirement, as well as a pay hike. As far as the increase in pay is concerned, the union is looking for a 3.6% increase while Lufthansa has countered at 2.5%.
The union offered no further details in terms of what flights would be targeted should they decided to walk off the job, again.
LH’s management has responded to this latest threat with obvious disappointment but also announced that it was ready to re-engage in talks with the union.
Sounds like a scene from Groundhogs Day doesn’t it?
by Lufthansa Flyer | Sep 18, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike, Vereinigung Cockpit |
Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the union representing the bulk of Lufthansa’s ‘mainline’ pilots, has announced that it has broken off negotiations. This comes after several months of negotiations worked to arrive at long term labor peace.
The big sticking point is VC’s demand that Lufthansa provide an outlet for pilots to choose early retirement and still receive their full retirement benefits, a concept that LH has steadfastly opposed.
Another fly in the union’s ointment is Lufthansa activity around Eurowings. With recent announcements of LH taking on Air Berlin aircraft and routes, as well as the expansion of Eurowings to Munich, the union is claiming this is being done intentionally by LH to reduce mainline demand. The union sees the risk of potential pilot layoffs from mainline which is why it feels LH is not negotiating a solution to early retirement options.
Though no strikes have been mentioned by name, VC has a history of calling ‘warning’ strikes that pop up with little or no notice, and last a few hours at a time. Just enough to disrupt operations and upset an airport full of passengers. These mini-strike are often warning shots in an attempt to force LH’s hand and they typically don’t succeed. So don’t be surprised if something isn’t announced on very short notice over the coming weeks.
Personally, I thought that VC and LH had started to warm up towards one another over the last few months after a tumultuous 2014 and 2015 that saw 13 strikes and hundreds of millions of Euro in losses for Lufthansa.
This of course is addition to the labor woes impacting Eurowings as they try to sort things out with Ver.di.
I’m afraid that history may be poised to repeat itself…….
by Lufthansa Flyer | Sep 15, 2016 | Dusseldorf, Eurowings, Featured, Hamburg |
Add more to the pile of woes at Eurowings……
Ver.di, the union that represents Eurowings’ ground crew and staff as well as airport personnel, is threatening to strike at short notice after recent labor negotiations fell apart. According to the union, 4 negotiation sessions with Lufthansa’s LCC management failed to yield any progress.
At the center of the labor issue is the union’s contention that employees have not seen a raise in 8 years. According to the union, the average Eurowings ground crew / staff employee earns only €131 more than Germany’s minimum wage requirement.
According to the union, it appears they are prepared to call a 4 hour strike with little to no notice between now and the next negotiation session which is slated for September 26. Nearly 500 employees can walk off the job at Eurowings bases in Hamburg and Dusseldorf should a strike be called.
The Union is seeking a 7 percent pay raise while Eurowings has countered with only a 1.3% raise for 2017 and 2018. So it doesn’t take a calculator to see that a major chasm exists between the 2 sides. The current contract expires on September 30 at which point things could really get ugly.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Aug 16, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike, UFO, Vereinigung Cockpit |
Months ago, Lufthansa and Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) had set a soft target of August 5 to come to terms with one another and finally reach an agreement that would satisfy everyone. With the deadline now 10 days in the past, no major progress was reported. As a matter a fact, in comments coming from both sides it seems that they may have even lost some ground that was gained in past negotiations.
Are Strikes likely?
At this point, no. Negotiations have not been contentious and both sides agree that it is in everyone’s best interest to work towards an agreement that would appease everyone. Of course this has been proven to be easier said than done.
For now it looks as though negotiations will pause which will allow each side to go back to their corner, assess what has happened and what needs to happen. Once that takes place, they’ll start another round of negotiations and continue the dance.
Related: Lufthansa Reaches Agreement With Flight Attendants
