Frankfurt - Deutsche Lufthansa may face fresh labour unrest after a union said talks over pay and promotion for pilots at its mainline and lower cost operations failed.
Negotiations on contracts and career paths for flights crew at the Lufthansa passenger brand, the Lufthansa Cargo freight arm and Germanwings discount operations that began early this year have produced no result, the Vereinigung Cockpit union said Friday in a statement.
Lufthansa’s management board “seems to have no interest in coming to a solution,” the union said, adding that an outline agreement that had formed the basis for the talks is no longer valid.
Europe’s third-biggest airline has frozen hiring for pilots on the most lucrative contracts, saying they make flights too expensive. Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr has cut also unprofitable routes at mainline operations while beefing up the Eurowings discount division, into which Germanwings is being folded.
Spohr is also establishing an Austria arm of the low-cost operation, enraging unions that say the new business could cannibalise existing services.
A series of walkouts wiped a total of 463 million euros ($520 million) from Lufthansa’s operating profit in 2014 and 2015. While reforms to retirement schemes have been agreed with two unions, the pilots, whose last strike was declared illegal by a court, have so far refused to sign a deal.
The breakdown comes after the Ver.di union warned this week that its cabin-crew members at Eurowings could strike over pay.
BLOOMBERG