Berlin, Sept. 6 (BNA): A union representing pilots at Lufthansa on Tuesday called off a planned two-day strike after a last-minute deal with Germany’s largest airline in a wage dispute.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union announced plans to pull out on Wednesday and Thursday, calling on the company to make a “serious” bid in talks over a pay increase.
It could have been the second strike in a week after pilots staged a strike on Friday that resulted in hundreds of flights being canceled, according to the Associated Press.
In hastily held talks on Tuesday, the union said the two sides had agreed in principle on a “broad package of monetary and structural issues”, the details of which will be brought up in the coming days.
Then the union called off the strike. Ahead of the talks, Lufthansa said it would have to decide by noon which flights would be canceled in the coming days, and the strike would have “serious consequences” for its flight plan.
It was not immediately clear what the agreement would entail. Vereinigung Cockpit has called for a 5.5% increase for its members this year and an 8.2% increase in 2023 to break inflation. The pilots also sought a new pay and vacation structure.
The airline said the measures would increase staffing costs by about 40%, or about 900 million euros, over two years. Instead, it was offering a one-time raise of 900 euros (dollars), a 5% increase for senior pilots and an 18% increase for those starting out.
Strong unions have traditionally worked to ensure good conditions for workers in Germany, using strikes to press their demands into labor disputes.