Lufthansa and the pilot’s union Vereinigung Cockpit reached an agreement regarding all earlier unsettled bargaining matters following constructive talks. In a statement of intent, the negotiating partners settled on forward-thinking provisions for transitional payments, pension plans, the framework deal on employment conditions and the collective wage deal for Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings pilots.
The recommendation developed in February by mediator Gunter Pleuger for the collective wage contract formed one part of the considerations. But the new agreement has made a formal acceptance of the arbitration recommendations unnecessary. Likewise, Lufthansa will not be pursuing a formerly announced plan to staff 40 newly acquired aircraft outside the group-wide collective bargaining agreement (KTV).
Over the next months, the details of the various collective bargaining agreements will have to be worked out. The deal provides a one-off balance-sheet reduction through the conversion of the pension schemes. In return for the cost-reducing elements of the agreement, 325 aircraft will be crewed in the present KTV flight operations in stages by 2022. This will allow Lufthansa to hire trainee pilots again in the coming years and create career prospects for pilots with a large number of positions. A reciprocal agreement to refrain from industrial action for the duration of the talks has already been reached, and is set to be formalized in a collective bargaining agreement that will last until 2022.
Bettina Volkens, Head of Legal Affairs and Human Resources at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, stated, “With this declaration of intent we have finally reached a breakthrough. The path is now clear for a comprehensive settlement with Vereinigung Cockpit on all unresolved collective bargaining issues. This is not only the end of the longest collective bargaining dispute in our company’s history – it also creates a sustainable deal that will last until 2022 and, at the same time, lays the foundation for a new social partnership with the Vereinigung Cockpit. The path to this result exacted a heavy toll from everyone involved – but, in the interest of Lufthansa, our employees, customers and shareholders, it was worth it. I would like to thank everyone who made this success possible. We have a lot of work ahead of us now, because we want to implement this settlement in collective bargaining agreements together with the union as quickly as possible.”
