Lufthansa employees have planned a new strike: when flight disruptions may occur
Following unsuccessful negotiations with the Lufthansa Group, the ver.di trade union has announced two new strikes by ground handling workers. They are scheduled for March 7 and 8, Thursday and Friday of this week.
These "warning" strikes, according to the company, will affect 200,000 passengers and will further escalate the conflict between the airline and its employees. According to Simple Flying, a Lufthansa Group spokesperson called the union's decision an "escalation".
Ver.di is demanding a wage increase of at least 12.5%, but Lufthansa Group only slightly improved its offer during the previous round of negotiations, by 0.5%.
The union accuses the airline of ignoring requests for talks and claims that strikes are the only way to take steps to resolve the disputes.
On the other hand, Lufthansa Group claims that ver.di is seeking to escalate the conflict rather than engage in constructive dialogue. The airline is ready to negotiate, but only without preconditions and on the condition that the union stops striking.
The work stoppage will start on March 7 at 4:00 a.m. local time (UTC+1) and end on March 9 at 7:10 a.m. Lufthansa Group has already developed a special flight plan to minimize the impact on passengers.
The strikes will take place a week before the next round of negotiations scheduled for March 13 and 14.
As previously reported by TravelWise, last week Brussels Airlines announced the cancellation of 20% of flights due to the strike of flight attendants.