Lufthansa passengers will have to prepare for increased flight cancellations and delays next Wednesday, July 27th.

In the ongoing collective bargaining for around 20,000 ground staff, the Verdi union has called for a one-day warning strike at all Lufthansa locations.

These include the airports in Frankfurt/Main, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich and Berlin.

The warning strike is scheduled to begin at 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday and end at 6 a.m. on Thursday.

The deputy Verdi chairman Christine Behle, who is also the negotiator, asked the passengers for their understanding.

"Workers, who are under enormous pressure every day, waited for a strong signal in the second round of negotiations that could have resulted in a good result," she said.

The overloading of employees due to a significant shortage of staff, high inflation and a three-year wage cut would put the employees under increasing pressure.

According to Behle, the offer from the employer is “not enough in any case”.

You will be informed early on about the upcoming warning strike so that the passengers can prepare for it and possibly reorient themselves.

Verdi demands a salary increase of 9.5 percent for the ground staff at counters and in customer service, in the maintenance and freight divisions, but at least 350 euros per month for a term of one year.

In addition, the union wants to enforce a lower limit for the hourly wage of 13 euros.

According to Verdi, employees at Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services and Lufthansa Cargo are still working at rates below the future statutory minimum wage of 12 euros.

The pilots could also go on strike

In the second round of negotiations, Lufthansa is said to have presented three variants for a package with a term of 18 months, each of which contained fixed amounts and a result-related component due on July 1, 2023.

Verdi had rejected the offer as "insufficient".

It "doesn't even come close to offsetting inflation."

Behle described the earnings-related component as a “blank check for an uncertain future for employees”.

After the second round of negotiations, Verdi and Lufthansa parted ways without an agreement, but have agreed to meet again on August 3rd.

In addition to the ground staff, the pilots could soon go on strike.

The pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) lost patience after six rounds of collective bargaining without an agreement at the end of last week.

According to information from the FAZ, a ballot was initiated on Thursday, which will run until July 31.

If 70 percent of union members with voting rights vote in favor, strikes would be possible as early as August.

At the end of 2021, VC terminated the wage agreement for the pilots of the Lufthansa core brand and Lufthansa Cargo with effect from June 30, 2022.

She is calling for a 5.5 percent pay rise retroactive to July 1.

From 2023 onwards, automatic inflation compensation should take effect.

The subsidiary Eurowings agreed to an agreement linking remuneration to inflation, but before inflation rose sharply.

Lufthansa meanwhile asserts: "We want to work out sustainable solutions together that take into account both the increased inflation and the economic performance of the company." This would also be preferred in VC circles, but they want to be ready for a strike at the beginning of August.