News / Lufthansa Cargo woes continue as Ver.di union vows to fight on

Photo - Lufthansa Cargo

Following repeated strikes at its hubs across Germany, Lufthansa is to engage in further negotiations with trade union ver.di.  

Ground staff at Lufthansa Cargo have been striking intermittently since the start of the year, calling for a 12.5% increase on their basic salary, among other conditions. 

The last round of negotiations between the German carrier and union were on 21 February and proved unsuccessful.  

Lufthansa told The Loadstar: “We offered multiple negotiations, as well as tariff offers, to ver.di to find a solution.” 

However, the head of aircrew alliance at ver.di, Dennis Dacke, told The Loadstar: “Lufthansa did not present an improved offer in the last round of negotiations. This behaviour is extremely regrettable, because we all want a solution at the negotiating table.” 

The next round of negotiations is now setfor 13 to 14 of March in Frankfurt. 

Mr Dacke said: “We have presented options for solutions. It is now up to the executive board to come up with an approach for a more valuable offer.” 

However, if the involved parties again fail to reach an agreement, Mr Dacke warned that ver.di was prepared to up the ante.  

He said: “The behaviour to date shows us that we need to increase the pressure further. But it also shows that solidarity is now more important than ever.” 

This could result in further cargo disruption or embargos at hubs across Germany, including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Dusseldorf. 

“We are prepared to continue our strike action. Our strike strategy is working. The employees have positioned themselves in such a way that the executive board sees their determination,” added Mr Dacke.  

MarketScreener reported a strike at Lufthansa over the weekend involved some 2,500 employees who control the loading of aircraft at Lufthansa Cargo or handling freight. This saw numerous flights cancelled, the majority from Frankfurt.  

Lufthansa said: “Currently, strikes across the Lufthansa Group are taking place. We can not make any comments about possible future strikes.” 

But Mr Dacke assured members of the union at Lufthansa that it will not stop its actions until a satisfactory decision has been reached.  

He told The Loadstar: “The employer side continues to ignore our request for negotiations and the demand for a better offer. They want to sit this conflict out.  They are continuing to play for time and are obviously counting on the fact that our cohesion and determination could collapse. But our determination will not.” 

Lufthansa said: “We are constantly monitoring and discussing the dynamic situation with our system partners with the aim of continuing to offer stable solutions for the transportation of freight.” 

The German carrier told The Loadstar it had developed an emergency flight plan for the coming days, but urged that it may be adjusted as the situation developed.