German flagship airline Lufthansa ( OTCQX:DLAKF ) management voiced its dismay over a call by a union for 20K ground staff to strike on Monday.
Early on Monday morning in Germany, the major union union Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, better known as ver.di, called for thousands of workers to walk out over pay disagreements. The union indicated that the walkout was merely a warning, but the strike is set to add to scheduling woes for the airline as protests are set to progress until Thursday.
However, Michael Niggemann, Member of the Executive Board Chief Officer Human Resources Deutsche Lufthansa AG, found the demand to be unreasonable. He noted that basic pay increases and options for further compensation increases have all already been agreed upon, making the large-scale strike unnecessary.
"After only two days of negotiations, ver.di has announced a strike that can hardly be called a warning strike due to its breadth across all locations and its duration,” he said. “This is all the more incomprehensible given that the employer side has offered high and socially balanced pay increases – despite the continuing tense economic situation for Lufthansa following the Covid crisis, high debt burdens and uncertain prospects for the global economy.”
The two parties are set to meet at the negotiating table again on August 3 and 4.
Read more about Ryanair’s results and its relationship with labor unions .
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Lufthansa strikes back at ‘incomprehensible’ worker protest