Deutsche Lufthansa reached a pay and retirement agreement with its ground crew, technical and cargo workers, the Verdi union confirmed in a statement, even as the airline continues to negotiate with restive cabin workers.
The deal between Lufthansa and Verdi affects 33,000 ground employees and grants those who worked between April and December this year a lump sum payout of €2,250, the union said in an emailed statement. The employees will also receive pay raises of 2.2 per cent each of the next two years.
German newswire DPA reported the agreement on Saturday.
The airline and Verdi also reached an agreement on retirement plans. Employees will contribute 1 percent of their salary to a pension plan in three graduated steps between 2016 and 2018. Employees hired since January 2014 who didn’t have pensions will be ensured one, and those hired after next January are also covered under the deal.
The agreement comes as Lufthansa continues negotiations with the UFO cabin-crew union that’s led to strikes and more threatened work stoppages. Flight attendants and pilots are fighting Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr’s efforts to overhaul Lufthansa.
News by Bloomberg, edited by Hospitality Ireland
