Share

Lufthansa to hold new talks with pilots' union

Frankfurt - German airline Lufthansa said it would meet with its pilots' union on Thursday to discuss union demands for an early retirement scheme and higher pay, but had not revised its offer.

The aim of the meeting is to lay the groundwork for further negotiations, a spokesperson for the German flagship carrier said on Tuesday.

"We will take up talks on the basis of the offer on the table. We are convinced it has enough substance to develop a solution," the spokesperson said.

Union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), which represents most of Lufthansa's 5 400 pilots, confirmed that the meeting was due to take place but declined further comment. It had previously said it wanted to see a new offer from Lufthansa before starting talks.

Lufthansa's pilots staged a three-day strike last week - the longest walkout in the airline's history - to underline their demands.

The pilots want Lufthansa to reinstate a scheme that enabled them to receive 60% of their pay if they left their jobs before the legal retirement age.

The retirement age of pilots was raised in recent years following a European court ruling and now stands at 65. Lufthansa terminated a previous transition agreement in the wake of that ruling.

Shortly before the strike, the carrier made an alternative proposal that would still have allowed pilots to retire early but this was rejected by the union.

Lufthansa is also negotiating with the pilots over a pay rise.

The carrier is in the middle of a restructuring programme, dubbed SCORE, which aims to improve operating profit by €1.5bn compared with 2011.

It has already agreed pay deals with ground staff and cabin crew, leaving the pilots as the final major staff group with which it has to reach agreement.

Costly strike

The cost of last week's strike, which caused Europe's biggest airline to cancel 3 800 flights in total, would be in the high double-digit million euros, chief financial officer Simone Menne told journalists late on Monday.

Previously, Lufthansa had talked of costs of between €35 and €75m.

Menne said the real damage would be longer term because it could put passengers off booking with the airline.

The CFO repeated comments that Lufthansa hoped to reach an agreement before the end of the Easter school holidays.

So far, the pilots have said they did not plan any action during the holidays.

The pilots' strike was the third to hit Lufthansa within six weeks after industrial action by security staff and public sector workers also affected German airports

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.16
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.95
+0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.53
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.49
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.5%
Platinum
917.20
+0.6%
Palladium
1,009.00
+0.4%
Gold
2,322.34
+0.3%
Silver
27.34
+0.7%
Brent Crude
88.02
-0.5%
Top 40
68,735
+0.2%
All Share
74,655
+0.2%
Resource 10
61,869
+2.4%
Industrial 25
103,378
-0.6%
Financial 15
15,845
+0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders