FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s Verdi union demanded on Saturday that Lufthansa present its ground staff with a better pay offer before agreeing to a new round of negotiations.
Ground staff at the main German airports went on strike on Tuesday, the second of the month, impacting, according to Lufthansa, around 100,000 passengers.
The fourth meeting, which aims to increase the salaries of some 25,000 ground employees, ended Thursday without result. The next meeting should take place on March 13 or 14 but the Verdi union now wants it to be brought forward in order to speed up the conclusion of an agreement.
“Negotiators have asked Lufthansa to convene for another meeting before March 13,” the union said in a statement. However, Verdi requests that a “significantly improved offer” be sent to him first.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has been hit by several nationwide strikes affecting air travel, railways and public transport. Faced with high inflation, workers are demanding wage increases.
Verdi is demanding a salary increase of 12.5%, or at least 500 euros more per month over a period of 12 months, as well as the payment of a one-off bonus of 3,000 euros to compensate for inflation.
(Reporting Vera Eckert; French version Kate Entringer)
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