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E-mail Xinhua, March 29, 2024
BERLIN, March 28 (Xinhua) -- After two months of negotiations accompanied by strikes, German flag carrier Lufthansa and its ground staff have reached a wage agreement to prevent further work stoppages over the upcoming Easter holidays.
The 25,000 employees will receive a salary increase of up to 18 percent over the next two years, the trade union Verdi said on Thursday. In addition, all employees will be paid a bonus of 3,000 euros (3,240 U.S. dollars) to compensate for inflation
"We fought hard for this compromise and we can now be very satisfied," said Verdi Chief Negotiator Marvin Reschinsky in a statement, calling the deal "historic."
This agreement is further good news for German travelers. On Tuesday, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn reached a wage agreement with train drivers. German commuters have faced disruption due to strikes in the last five months, with the longest one lasting for five days.
However, this does not mark an end to strikes, both at Lufthansa and in Germany. On Thursday, ground staff at Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines, as well as employees of the supermarket chains Lidl and Kaufland, both part of the Schwarz Group, walked off the job.
Security staff at German airports and flight attendants have also not yet concluded salary negotiations, so further strikes at airports cannot be ruled out entirely in the coming weeks.
Due to numerous strikes by various labor organizations, German airlines and airports recorded a sales shortfall of over 395 million euros since 2019, according to the German Aviation Association (BDL). Figures from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 were excluded from the calculation.
"The unions are weakening the material basis of the companies and their employees," said BDL Managing Director Matthias von Randow in a statement on March 15. "The money lost as a result is now lacking in expenditure for employees and for investments in climate protection and the stability of flight operations." (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar) Enditem
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