Three strikes in three months
Pilots from a Lufthansa subsidiary are stopping work again
February 2, 2024, 9:19 p.m
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The employees of the Lufthansa subsidiary “Discover Airlines” are fighting for a collective agreement. In order to emphasize their demands, the employees stop working again. This time the strike is expected to last two days.
The next strike is on the agenda for the Lufthansa Group. Passengers of the holiday flight subsidiary Discover Airlines must be prepared for cancellations and delays this Sunday and Monday. The Cockpit Association (VC) union has called on the pilots to go on strike for this period of two whole days. It is already the third strike after a five-hour warning strike shortly before Christmas and a regular strike lasting a whole day on Friday last week, after the pilots voted in favor of strikes in a strike vote.
The union is fighting for an initial collective agreement at the airline, which was founded two and a half years ago and operates in Frankfurt and Munich. It informed its members on Friday that management had not presented an improved offer in recent discussions. The company continues to adhere to the prerequisite of concluding a so-called social partnership charter before a collective agreement is reached. From the VC’s point of view, this should massively restrict the right to strike.
“The negotiations have therefore failed and cannot be continued under the intolerable conditions demanded by the employer,” the VC collective bargaining commission informed the employees. People were surprised at the management’s approach because the Swiss holiday airline Edelweiss had a solid collective employment agreement within the group. In view of the lack of progress in the negotiations, a new strike announcement is the last resort.
“Discover Airlines” is supposed to compete with Condor
The January strike led to some flight cancellations for the airline, which operates a total of 24 aircraft and flies short-haul flights on behalf of the parent company Lufthansa in Munich. Lufthansa itself took over these flights for the day of the strike. The VC and the cabin union UFO, which was also involved, were very satisfied after the industrial action. The participation of the workforce in the cockpit and cabin was overwhelming; A number of flights either did not take place as planned or were not carried out at all.
The Lufthansa Group’s holiday airline was initially launched in the Corona summer of 2021 under the name “Eurowings Discover” and was later renamed “Discover Airlines”. It should be cheaper than the Lufthansa core brand and compete with holiday airlines like the Condor.
Lufthansa is currently negotiating working conditions and pay with several groups of employees in different group companies. On the Discover there are conflicts with the pilots and cabin crew. At parent company Lufthansa, flight attendants and ground staff have already threatened warning strikes. In addition, labor disputes at service providers, such as those recently at security checkpoints and ground services, are restricting air traffic.