Lufthansa cabin crew negotiations fail, strike possible

Lufthansa’s flight attendant union, UFO, has announced the latest round of talks between the airline and cabin crew workers have failed, and further strike actions could be possible.

UFO, rejecting Lufthansa’s latest offer, said in a statement that elementary points such as job security were missing and negotiations “failed completely.”

UFO represents around 19,000 flight attendants. It said that further negotiations with Lufthansa are impossible and the aim of reaching an agreement by Nov. 1 will not occur.

According to several media reports, Lufthansa’s offer, presented Oct. 19, allows for cabin crew members to stop working when they reach 55 years of age, but said they could receive significantly higher pensions if they stayed on the job until the age of 65. In addition, all cabin crew would receive a one-time payment of €2,000 each, and those who had been with the company since 2012 would also get wage increases of 1.7% in 2016 and again in 2017.

Lufthansa has been affected by 13 pilot strikes since April 2014. In September, a local labor court declared its latest pilots’ strike unlawful.

A spokesperson from Lufthansa could not be reached.