The executive board of the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has decided to initiate a strike ballot in the ongoing wage dispute with Lufthansa. The vote is scheduled to begin on 12 September and is expected to run until the end of the month, the union announced on its website Friday evening. No strikes will take place until the ballot concludes.
VC declared negotiations over the company pension scheme for Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots had failed on Wednesday. “Lufthansa had seven negotiation rounds to present a serious offer and did not take this opportunity,” said VC President Andreas Pinheiro. “It always follows the same pattern: the employer blocks and stonewalls, rejects everything, refuses to compromise – and then complains when we leave the negotiating table.”
According to the union, Lufthansa pilots received a traditional company pension with guaranteed payments until 2017. This was replaced, at the employer’s insistence, by a capital market–funded model. VC said the new scheme falls “well below the previous level,” adding that the company pension remains a crucial part of pilots’ financial security.
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