2024-03-19 10:29:00
Arbitrators should help resolve the Lufthansa ground staff wage dispute. The Verdi union and the airlines name two well-known personalities.
Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow and the former head of the Federal Employment Agency, Frank-Jürgen Weise, are supposed to mediate the collective bargaining dispute among Lufthansa ground staff. The Verdi union named Ramelow, the Lufthansa Weise, as the two sides announced separately on Monday evening in Berlin and Frankfurt. The arbitration should therefore begin on March 25th and end on March 28th at the latest.
Verdi and Lufthansa agreed last week to seek arbitration for the approximately 25,000 ground workers as quickly as possible. This is intended to avoid strikes at Easter. A duty of peace should apply during the mediation.
There is a threat of indefinite strikes
“However, if the arbitration does not produce a result that the employees can agree to, it can be assumed that there will be forced strikes,” said Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky. The ballot for this will begin on Tuesday. Forced strikes mean indefinite strikes; they are considered the last resort in workers’ struggles.
Verdi is charging 12.5 percent more money for Lufthansa ground staff for a term of twelve months, while the company has previously offered 10 percent for a term of 28 months. An inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros is comparatively undisputed. Most recently, hundreds of Lufthansa flights were canceled in this area due to a warning strike organized by Verdi.
The left-wing politician Ramelow and ex-employment agency boss Weise have experience in resolving collective bargaining disputes. Ramelow settled the collective bargaining disputes with the train drivers’ union GDL at the railway in 2015 and 2017. Weise was involved in resolving the conflict between Lufthansa and the UFO cabin union in 2019/2020.