Lufthansa, German pilots union talks founder
Talks between Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa and the country’s pilots union have foundered after the former reportedly refused to accept the latter’s concessions in exchange for pursuing its own cost-cutting plans.
The union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) reported the failure of the negotiations with the company’s CEO Carsten Spohr on Wednesday.
"It is obvious that the management is not attempting to find common solutions," said VC spokesman Markus Wahl.
The union had reportedly proposed the airline to shed costs by raising the average retirement age among other means instead of following up its plans of changing retirement benefits and lowering costs via expansion of Eurowings, Lufthansa's budget subsidiary.
"When the company turns down our savings scheme it shows that management is not interested in improving market conditions, but rather in undermining tariff-based deals and outsourcing jobs abroad," Wahl said.
Protesting the carrier’s plans, Lufthansa pilots have walked off the job 12 times since April last year. The strike action has cost the company more than USD 338.4 million (EUR 300 million).
"As of now, more strike action at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings has to be expected," Wahl said in a statement.
This comes as Lufthansa has expressed hope that the talks would continue to avert new walkouts.
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