Lufthansa, union reach pay deal for ground staff

Following a one-day strike that resulted in the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights, Lufthansa and a union that represents its ground personnel in Germany have come to an agreement to resolve a salary dispute. The Verdi trade union and Lufthansa secured a compensation agreement on August 4th, resulting in salary increases for the airline’s thousands of ground staff.

Around 20,000 Lufthansa ground employees are represented by Verdi, and under the most recent agreement, their earnings will rise in two stages: by 2.5 percent starting in January 2023 and another 2.5 percent on July 1 of the next year. An initial 9.5 percent wage increase was the one the union requested.

According to Michael Niggemann, head of personnel at Lufthansa, “we stretched the pay rise over multiple steps and secured longer-term security of planning with an 18-month period due to the still-high loads from the pandemic and the uncertain economy.”

The union’s initial request for this year was a 9.5 percent salary raise. Its Wednesday last week strike added to the recent travel chaos in Europe. According to Lufthansa, the strike cost it about 35 million euros.

Niggemann reaffirmed the management of Lufthansa’s willingness to reach a settlement with regard to the upcoming talks with the cockpit and the cabin and expressed optimism that successful solutions can also be found here.