Lufthansa reaches no-strike deal with staff
German airline Lufthansa has unveiled the details of a wide-ranging deal on pay and working conditions for its cabin staff thus putting an end to a long and bitter industrial dispute that hit thousands of passengers.
Lufthansa and the cabin crews' union UFO said that both sides had accepted a "comprehensive agreement" drawn up during months of arbitration.
The talks had been mediated by Matthias Platzeck, the former Social Democrat president of the regional state of Brandenburg.
The deal covered issues ranging from pension rights, pay increases, a long-term no-strike agreement and job guarantees until 2021, the two sides said in a joint statement as reported by AFP.
Lufthansa's personnel chief Bettina Volkens said that with Platzeck's support, the airline and the union had "managed to reach a solution at the bargaining table out of the public eye.
"It was a struggle to reach an agreement in which it was necessary for both sides to make cutbacks from their original position. The current compromise demonstrates that the effort was worthwhile," AFP has quoted her as saying.
UFO's chief negotiator Nicoley Baublies said Platzeck "managed very neatly to bring our diverging interests together in the best possible way: Lufthansa has achieved economic and political security without taking anything away from individual employees at any point."
In November, cabin staff staged the longest walkout in Lufthansa's history with a seven-day stoppage, during which 4,700 flights were scrapped and 550,000 passengers grounded.
The dispute erupted nearly two years ago when management sought to cut costs, saying the current retirement system was too expensive to maintain. The union, however, wanted the status quo to remain.
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