Lufthansa agrees pay deal with ground staff

Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) has reached a deal with its ground staff, a week after a costly strike that forced it to cancel virtually all its flights from its main hubs.

The German flag carrier said it has agreed significant pay increases for around 20,000 ground staff. Management said they hoped the deal would show that they are ready to reach deals in upcoming pay negotiations with pilots and cabin crew.

The deal with union Verdi rules out any further strikes by ground staff, who work in roles from check-in to maintenance and aircraft push-back. However, pilots have held a vote in which they overwhelmingly said they would be prepared to strike.