Despite Very Good Offer: Pilots’ Union VC Announces Strike
- Affected: Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo departures at German airports on 2 September 2022
- Lufthansa offer: 900 euros higher base salary per month for pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots as well as new perspective agreement
- VC demand would increase payroll costs by over 40 percent through inflation compensation and new salary scale, among other things
- Chief Human Resources Officer Michael Niggemann: “We need to find solutions through negotiation”
- The German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has called on its members at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo to strike from 00:01 to 23:59 CET on 2 September. This will affect Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo departures at German airports.
- The airline is unable to provide more specific information on the impact of the walkouts at this time. Lufthansa will do everything possible to minimize the impact of the strike measures for its passengers. Passengers are requested to continuously check www.lufthansa.com for information regarding their flight.
- Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG: “We cannot understand VC’s call for a strike. The management has made a very good and socially balanced offer – despite the continuing burdens of the Covid crisis and uncertain prospects for the global economy. This escalation comes at the expense of many thousands of customers.”
- Specifically, the Group has presented an offer with an 18-month term, in which pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo will receive a total of 900 euros more in basic pay per month in two stages. This will benefit entry-level salaries in particular. An entry-level co-pilot will receive more than 18 percent additional basic pay over the duration of the agreement, while a captain in the final stage will receive five percent. With the agreement for the ground staff, the Group has shown that it is prepared to make significant pay increases.
- As an alternative, VC has been offered the option of allocating all or part of this volume elsewhere, for example for structural changes such as adjustments to the pay scale.
- In addition, the Group is offering VC the opportunity to jointly conclude a new Perspective Agreement (German: ‘Perspektivvereinbarung’ / PPV), which guarantees cockpit personnel at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo cockpit personnel a minimum fleet size.
- VC demands would increase payroll costs by more than 40 percent
- In contrast, VC is not only demanding a 5.5 percent wage increase by the end of the year as a first step, but also additional compensation above inflation as of January 2023. According to current estimates, this would increase the payroll cost for cockpit personnel at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo by a good 16 percent over the two-year period proposed by VC.
- In addition, VC is demanding, among other things, a new pay scale with a higher base salary as well as more money, for example, for sick days, vacation or training. In addition to the 16 percent, this would increase cockpit payroll costs by a further 25 percentage points based on data from previous years. Even without taking the financial consequences of the Covid crisis into account, this is not acceptable.
- In total, the demands of VC would increase cockpit payroll costs from 2.2 billion euros by probably more than 40 percent – or approximately 900 million euros – over the next two years.
- Massive investments at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo for years
- Nowhere in the Group has there been more investment than in job growth at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo. Since 2010, around 60 percent of all new aircraft have been deployed at these two flight operations. By 2024, the Group expects 33 new, state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft, all of which will go to Lufthansa, along with the associated jobs.
- Between 2010 and the start of the Covid crisis, for example, the number of cockpit jobs at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo grew by 18 percent, and by as much as 45 percent at the Munich hub. This growth is also reflected in the recent past: since 2017 and the conclusion of the Perspective Agreement with Vereinigung Cockpit, not only have nearly 700 co-pilots been hired at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, but also 400 already employed co-pilots have been made captains, thus developing careers. New captain positions will also be created this year – a total of 125.
- “We want to continue this growth with our cockpit colleagues at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo,” says Michael Niggemann. “We want to find solutions at the negotiating table – our offers on the collective pay agreement or also on an overall agreement including a new Perspective Agreement are a good basis for continuing talks with VC.”
List of demands of the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit – published on 21 July on the occasion of the call for the strike vote (available in German):
Forderungen der VC zu einem neuen VTV bei der Deutschen Lufthansa AG
Vom Geltungsbereich dieses VTV sollen alle in Deutschland stationierten Piloten, die bei der Deutschen Lufthansa AG beschäftigt sind, umfasst sein.
Mit dem neuen VTV sollen für die vom Geltungsbereich umfassten Cockpitmitarbeiter substanziell verbesserte und faire Vergütungen erreicht werden.
Die Forderungen zum VTV umfassen folgende Regelungen:
- Kurze Laufzeit des Tarifvertrags (erstmals kündbar zum 30.06.2024)
- Tabellenerhöhung (ab 01.07.2022: 5,5%)
- Ab 01.01.2023 automatischer Inflationsausgleich über dem VPI DSTATIS Index um einen Faktor 0,5 erhöht gedeckelt auf 1%
- Verhandlungsverpflichtung zur perspektivischen Umstellung auf Bezahlung nach Dienstzeit
- Verbesserung der Vergütung von Bodenevents / STBY APT / DH Flüge
- Bezahlung Krankheits- und Urlaubstage („K/U“) (3,25h pro Tag K/U, in Summe (aus K/U) maximal MFH-Auslösegrenze; später Umstellung auf Bezahlung nach Dienstzeit)
- Abschaffung der „VTV Neu“ Vergütung (kein SO-Gehalt mehr bis zum Check Out, sondern direkter Einstieg mit FO-Gehalt nach Skill Test)
- Neueingruppierung der FOs in neue Vergütungssystematik
- Übergangsregelungen „VTV Neu“ (keine Gehaltsabsenkung möglich, temporäre Günstigkeits-Regelung „VTV Neu“ zu alt; zwei zusätzliche Stufensteigerungen für BRFler)
- CP Mindestvergütung bei 12.650,00 €
- Zusätzlich: Überleitungsregeln CPT / Schlepplift
- Kein Deckel mehr bei der Variablen Vergütung Cockpit (VVC)
- Regelung der Mehrflugstundenfaktoren im VTV und Erhöhung der Mehrflugstundenfaktoren
- Neuregelung einer angemessenen Trainer-/Ausbildervergütung im VTV
- CRC sollen im VTV erwähnt und FO gleichgestellt werden
- Eingruppierung nach Wechsel von CFG/CPG/GWI/LAT zu DLH/LCAG und Einstellung ehemaliger Mitarbeiter dieser Gesellschaften bei DLH/LCAG
Forderungen der VC zu einem neuen VTV bei der Lufthansa Cargo AG
Vom Geltungsbereich dieses VTV sollen alle in Deutschland stationierten Piloten, die bei der Lufthansa Cargo AG beschäftigt sind, umfasst sein.
Mit dem neuen VTV sollen für die vom Geltungsbereich umfassten Cockpitmitarbeiter substanziell verbesserte und faire Vergütungen erreicht werden.
Die Forderungen zum VTV umfassen folgende Regelungen:
- Kurze Laufzeit des Tarifvertrags (erstmals kündbar zum 30.06.2024)
- Tabellenerhöhung (ab 01.07.2022: 5,5%)
- Ab 01.01.2023 automatischer Inflationsausgleich über dem VPI DSTATIS Index um einen Faktor 0,5 erhöht gedeckelt auf 1%
- Verhandlungsverpflichtung zur perspektivischen Umstellung auf Bezahlung nach Dienstzeit
- Verbesserung der Vergütung von Bodenevents / STBY APT / DH Flüge
- Bezahlung Krankheits- und Urlaubstage („K/U“) (3,25h pro Tag K/U, in Summe (aus K/U) maximal MFH-Auslösegrenze; später Umstellung auf Bezahlung nach Dienstzeit)
- Abschaffung der „VTV Neu“ Vergütung (kein SO-Gehalt mehr bis zum Check Out, sondern direkter Einstieg mit FO-Gehalt nach Skill Test)
- Neueingruppierung der FOs in neue Vergütungssystematik
- Übergangsregelungen „VTV Neu“ (keine Gehaltsabsenkung möglich, temporäre Günstigkeits-Regelung „VTV Neu“ zu alt; zwei zusätzliche Stufensteigerungen für BRFler)
- CP Mindestvergütung bei 12.650,00 €
- Zusätzlich: Überleitungsregeln CPT / Schlepplift
- Kein Deckel mehr bei der Variablen Vergütung Cockpit (VVC)
- Regelung der Mehrflugstundenfaktoren im VTV und Erhöhung der Mehrflugstundenfaktoren
- Neuregelung einer angemessenen Trainer-/Ausbildervergütung im VTV
- CRC sollen im VTV erwähnt und FO gleichgestellt werden
- Kein Deckel mehr für die CP-Vergütung
- Eingruppierung nach Wechsel von CFG/CPG/GWI/LAT zu DLH/LCAG und Einstellung ehemaliger Mitarbeiter dieser Gesellschaften bei DLH/LCAG
Because of the VC pilots’ union strike announcement: Lufthansa has to cancel almost all flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich for Friday, 2 September
- Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo departures at German airports are affected
- 800 flights cancelled tomorrow, Friday 2 September
- Massive impact on flight operations in the middle of return season at the end of summer holidays in Germany and other European countries
- Eurowings and Eurowings Discover flights not affected
- The strike announced by the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) for Friday 2 September in the period from 00:01 to 23:59 hrs. (Central European Summer Time; GMT +2 hrs) will have a massive impact on flight operations – in the middle of the main return travel period at the end of the school holidays in Germany and other European countries. Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo departures at German airports are affected.
- Lufthansa has to cancel 800 flights at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich for Friday, with single flights also being cancelled as early as today, Thursday 1 September. An estimated 130,000 passengers will be affected, in view of the upcoming weekend, the end of the holidays in some parts of Europe. Lufthansa is working with joint forces to return its flight operations to a normal status as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, the effects of the strike may still lead to individual flight cancellations or delays this Saturday and Sunday.
- Eurowings and Eurowings Discover are not affected by the strike call and are scheduled to operate as planned. Passengers affected by cancellations will be informed immediately today and rebooked on alternative flights if possible.
- Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG:”We cannot understand VC’s call for a strike. The management has made a very good and socially balanced offer – despite the continuing burdens of the Covid crisis and uncertain prospects for the global economy. This escalation comes at the expense of many thousands of customers.” Specifically, the Group has presented an offer with an 18-month term, in which pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo will receive a total of 900 euros more in basic pay per month in two stages. This will benefit entry-level salaries in particular. An entry-level co-pilot will receive more than 18 percent additional basic pay over the duration of the agreement, while a captain in the final stage will receive five percent. With the agreement for the ground staff, the Group has shown that it is prepared to make significant pay increases.
As an alternative, VC has been offered the option of allocating all or part of this volume elsewhere, for example for structural changes such as adjustments to the pay scale. In addition, the Group is offering VC the opportunity to jointly conclude a new Perspective Agreement (German: ‘Perspektivvereinbarung’ / PPV), which Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo cockpit staff a minimum fleet size.