FRANKFURT—German flagship carrier Lufthansa is planning the biggest strike in its history, a four-day strike starting on Monday Feb. 22. The German pilots’ worker union “Vereinigung Cockpit” (VC) has asked 4,000 pilots to walk off their jobs.
VC is accusing Lufthansa of transferring German pilot jobs abroad to its subsidiary companies such as Lufthansa Italy and Austria Airlines, where the pilots get paid a much lower salary and have worse working conditions.
The union fears further cost cuttings by Lufthansa and the laying off of its highly paid and experienced pilots.
“We cannot just watch how German jobs are being transferred abroad and this is exactly what Lufthansa is doing,” said a VC spokesperson in a statement. “We want some measures that prohibit this behavior.”
The consequences of the strike could be devastating for Lufthansa. Not only will it lose 100 million euros (US$135 million) during these four days, but it could also undermine its reputation and therefore set its competitors a step ahead. Lufthansa is the biggest airline to traffic Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.
While Lufthansa is striking, other airlines will be working overtime to win new customers and generate more revenue.
“What to do when my Lufthansa pilot goes on strike?” asks a spokesperson from airline Ryanair, a Lufthansa competitor in Europe. “Ryanair is offering reliable and cheap alternatives.”
As part of the argument to reduce job losses, VC is pushing Lufthansa to offer the same salaries, benefits, and work conditions to all the pilots flying under the Lufthansa brand in all subsidiaries.
Lufthansa, however, is not in a position to accept such demands by VC.
“We can talk immediately about the issue of job security for Lufthansa pilots when Cockpit drops its unreasonable and legally impossible demand for the extension of German labor conditions abroad,” said Christoph Franz, a board member of Lufthansa, in a statement.
The consequences of a four-day strike will not just impact Lufthansa, but also put a strain on the whole German economy that is so dependent on its biggest airline for performing day-to-day business operations.
German Economy Minister Peter Ramsauer called on both sides to stop fighting and sit down together to reach a compromise.
“A reasonable compromise must be reached in order to minimize the damage to German economy,” he said in a statement.
The German Employers Association BDA, protecting Lufthansa, strongly criticizes the actions of VC and calls the strike an “Illegitimate Intervention in company’s freedom.”
Peter Hundt, the president of BDA calls this strike “irresponsible misuse of pilots’ rank. I demand VC get off their dangerous false path and immediately sit down to the negotiating table,” he said.
Lufthansa is known for paying high salaries and offering good working conditions to its pilots. According to Lufthansa’s official Web site, a pilot’s starting base salary is 110,000 euros (US$150,000) per annum. That does not include weekend, night, and overtime flights that are paid in addition on a tax-free basis.
According to the German Newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, an experienced pilot on Lufthansa scheduled flights could earn a salary of up to 250,000 euros (US$340,000) a year.
VC is accusing Lufthansa of transferring German pilot jobs abroad to its subsidiary companies such as Lufthansa Italy and Austria Airlines, where the pilots get paid a much lower salary and have worse working conditions.
The union fears further cost cuttings by Lufthansa and the laying off of its highly paid and experienced pilots.
“We cannot just watch how German jobs are being transferred abroad and this is exactly what Lufthansa is doing,” said a VC spokesperson in a statement. “We want some measures that prohibit this behavior.”
The consequences of the strike could be devastating for Lufthansa. Not only will it lose 100 million euros (US$135 million) during these four days, but it could also undermine its reputation and therefore set its competitors a step ahead. Lufthansa is the biggest airline to traffic Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.
While Lufthansa is striking, other airlines will be working overtime to win new customers and generate more revenue.
“What to do when my Lufthansa pilot goes on strike?” asks a spokesperson from airline Ryanair, a Lufthansa competitor in Europe. “Ryanair is offering reliable and cheap alternatives.”
As part of the argument to reduce job losses, VC is pushing Lufthansa to offer the same salaries, benefits, and work conditions to all the pilots flying under the Lufthansa brand in all subsidiaries.
Lufthansa, however, is not in a position to accept such demands by VC.
“We can talk immediately about the issue of job security for Lufthansa pilots when Cockpit drops its unreasonable and legally impossible demand for the extension of German labor conditions abroad,” said Christoph Franz, a board member of Lufthansa, in a statement.
The consequences of a four-day strike will not just impact Lufthansa, but also put a strain on the whole German economy that is so dependent on its biggest airline for performing day-to-day business operations.
German Economy Minister Peter Ramsauer called on both sides to stop fighting and sit down together to reach a compromise.
“A reasonable compromise must be reached in order to minimize the damage to German economy,” he said in a statement.
The German Employers Association BDA, protecting Lufthansa, strongly criticizes the actions of VC and calls the strike an “Illegitimate Intervention in company’s freedom.”
Peter Hundt, the president of BDA calls this strike “irresponsible misuse of pilots’ rank. I demand VC get off their dangerous false path and immediately sit down to the negotiating table,” he said.
Lufthansa is known for paying high salaries and offering good working conditions to its pilots. According to Lufthansa’s official Web site, a pilot’s starting base salary is 110,000 euros (US$150,000) per annum. That does not include weekend, night, and overtime flights that are paid in addition on a tax-free basis.
According to the German Newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, an experienced pilot on Lufthansa scheduled flights could earn a salary of up to 250,000 euros (US$340,000) a year.
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