Lufthansa Pilots Prepare for Strike Vote Amid Stalled Negotiations

Lufthansa pilots are gearing up for a potential strike as negotiations regarding their pension plans have reached an impasse. The pilots' union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), has declared the discussions concerning the company's occupational retirement provisions unsuccessful and has formally requested a strike ballot from its governing body.

The specific timing and occurrence of a strike among the pilots at Lufthansa, which is currently facing financial challenges, remain uncertain. The last organized strike by the VC took place in 2022 and lasted for one day.

In May, the VC had called upon Lufthansa to engage in negotiations surrounding pension plans and transitional benefits. However, these talks have not yielded any substantive agreements. Approximately 4,800 employees are impacted by these negotiations, and the VC claims that Lufthansa has failed to present a meaningful offer. A representative from the airline stated that they had not received any information regarding the breakdown of the negotiations and, thus, were unable to comment.

In a prior agreement made in 2017, the pilots' union consented to a change whereby Lufthansa would no longer guarantee the total amount of pensions but would instead only guarantee the employer contributions. This shift resulted in the burden of interest rate risks being passed onto the employees. Additionally, the average age for receiving transitional benefits was raised by two years to 60 years. Reports indicate that returns on pension investments have fallen short of initial expectations.

Compounding these issues is an underlying major conflict relating to various airlines within the Lufthansa Group. The airline's management, led by CEO Carsten Spohr, has established carriers such as City Airlines and Discover with the intention of operating under more favorable wage conditions compared to Lufthansa's core brand and its regional subsidiary, Lufthansa Cityline.

To facilitate this, some labor agreements have already been reached with the competing union Verdi, leaving the specialized unions VC for pilots and Ufo for cabin crew marginalized. These unions are striving to prevent a significant transfer of aircraft and jobs to the newer, lower-cost airlines.