Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa, is facing the prospect of a strike. In a membership vote conducted by the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), an overwhelming majority of pilots supported industrial action. The dispute centers on their company pension scheme. Lufthansa stressed on Tuesday that it is seeking “solutions at the negotiating table,” but any agreement must consider the “economic performance” of its core brand.
VC and Lufthansa have held seven rounds of negotiations on the company pension for pilots without reaching a result. The union declared the talks failed and, at the beginning of September, called for a membership vote, covering pilots from both Lufthansa Classic and the cargo division, Lufthansa Cargo. Participation in the vote exceeded expectations: 88 percent of Lufthansa Classic pilots and 96 percent of Cargo pilots voted to “take all necessary measures, including industrial action, if required.”
“This result is a strong signal of unity from our members,” said VC President Andreas Pinheiro. “The pilots clearly support the demands and their negotiating committee.” Arne Karstens, spokesperson for the negotiating committee, added that he expects “Lufthansa to take the workforce’s signals seriously and finally present a negotiable offer for the company pension scheme.”
Lufthansa Chief Human Resources Officer Michael Niggemann stated that VC wants to resume negotiations, “which we welcome.” He emphasized that viable solutions can only be found at the negotiating table. However, Niggemann added that the vote “has not expanded the scope for decision-making. Negotiation solutions must be compatible with the economic performance of Lufthansa’s core brand Classic. Our aim in further negotiations remains to sustainably secure the future viability of Lufthansa Classic.”
According to the union, Lufthansa pilots received a traditional company pension with guaranteed payouts until 2017. This was replaced at the employer’s request with a capital market–based model, which VC says falls “significantly” short of the previous level. The union stressed that the pension is “a central foundation of life planning for pilots, at least as important as the statutory pension.”
A strike would come at a particularly difficult time for the airline. On Monday, Lufthansa announced plans to cut around 4,000 jobs by 2030, primarily in Germany, due to missed profit targets.
Within the Lufthansa Group, which includes airlines such as Brussels, Austrian, Swiss, and Eurowings, labor disputes have been ongoing. Employee representatives accuse management of deliberately undermining existing collective agreements through the establishment of new airlines.
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