Lufthansa pilots vote in favor of industrial action over pay

Pilots of German flag carrier Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) have voted in favor of industrial action, paving the way for a strike.

“With a turnout of 93.2% (DLH) and 95.7% (Lufthansa Cargo), 97.6% (DLH) and 99.3% (Lufthansa Cargo) voted to support the wage commission,” Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), Germany’s pilot union, said in a statement dated July 31, 2022.

According to VC, the vote will not necessarily lead to strike action, but it is an “unmistakable signal” to Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) to take the needs of its pilots seriously.

Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) pilots’ demands are primarily about compensation for wage loss, alignment of remuneration system, and making lower wage levels more competitive, VC said.

The call for industrial action came just a couple of days after Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) was forced to cancel almost all of its flights in Munich and Frankfurt on July 27, 2022 due to a strike by the airline’s ground staff.

“We now need a modern and fair, internationally competitive remuneration structure in all professional groups,” Marcel Gröls, Chairman of Collective Bargaining Policy at VC said in the statement.