After five months of negotiations, the Independent Flight Attendants Organisation (UFO) and Lufthansa have reached a collective agreement for the airline's cabin crew. This provides for a salary increase in two steps for the 19,000 employees in 2023, as both sides announced on Tuesday.
Lufthansa's Press Release Reads - "Lufthansa and the flight attendants’ union “Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation e.V.” (UFO) have reached an agreement on a new collective pay and terms-of-employment agreement, together with a new collective part-time employment agreement, for Lufthansa’s cabin personnel."
The new collective pay agreement includes the following terms:
Unabhängige Flugbegleiter Organisation said ,
After five months of negotiations with Deutsche Lufthansa, the independent flight attendant organization (UFO) has reached a collective bargaining agreement for cabin workers that provides for a pay increase in two stages for 2023: In addition to a base increase of €250 in all salary levels on January 1, 2023, a July 2023 there will be a 2.5% increase in remuneration. With these two levels, the total increases - depending on the salary level - are between at least 8.89% and 17.47%. The term of this collective wage agreement ends on December 31, 2023.
The new collective pay agreement particularly benefits new employees: starting salaries for cabin personnel will be increased by over 17percent. Cabin personnel at the highest salary grade will also get about 9 percent increase in their basic monthly pay.
Lufthansa and UFO already reached agreement in August of this year on five one-off payments totaling 1,200 euros to all cabin personnel, in view of the recent developments in cost-of-living terms.
The social partners have also agreed on a new collective terms-of-employment agreement that offers new and more flexible part-time employment models for more productivity; especially in the summer months with high demand for air travel.
“We are delighted that we have reached an agreement with our social partner UFO on salary increases that have a strong social dimension for our Deutsche Lufthansa AG cabin personnel, and have simultaneously been able to conclude a new collective terms-of-employment agreement,” says Michael Niggemann, Chief Officer Human Resources and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "
“Our cabin personnel in the lower and mid-range salary groups will particularly benefit from the agreement we have reached. With this, we are paying due and full regard to our social responsibilities, while also ensuring our attractiveness as an employer. And the flexible new workhours models offer prospects, perspectives and appealing working terms and conditions that are closely aligned to the needs of our cabin personnel.”
UFO collective bargaining board member Stefan Schwerthelm said,
“Our patient and tenacious attitude during the months of negotiations has paid off: With a first solid pay increase after two years of crisis caused by the pandemic, we can now go through 2023, for which an upswing is forecast at Lufthansa. We are convinced that the safeguarding of valuable jobs in the Lufthansa cabin can be further promoted in this way,"
“We are glad that the crisis collective agreement is history as of today. At the time of its completion, when no one could foresee the end of the pandemic and its consequences for air traffic, it was the right tool. Since last week at the latest, however, we have also known the current figures and this year's profit forecasts, so that the early termination of the crisis collective agreement was the only right step. Lufthansa also saw it that way,” added Schwerthelm.
The conclusion of the new collective pay and terms-of-employment agreement also formally ends the crisis agreement concluded in June 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The new agreement is still subject to the approval of the relevant bodies and UFO members committee approval . In addition, the UFO members can decide on the tariff result in a ballot.
Source : Lufthansa and UFO
