Lufthansa airport ground staff have reached a pay agreement with their employer, the German trade union ver.di has announced.

Ver.di announces pay deal between ground staff and Lufthansa

After a series of warning strikes throughout February and March, each of which impacted an estimated 200.000 passengers and brought airports to a near standstill, ver.di has reached a new pay agreement with Lufthansa on behalf of the airline’s ground staff.

Lufthansa staff manager Michael Niggemann said that the deal was a “good compromise with substantial salary increases over the term of the agreement”. 

During the strike period, ver.di was pushing for its 25.000 members who work as ground staff at Lufthansa to receive a 12,5 percent pay rise. According to ver.di spokesperson and negotiator Marvin Reschinsky, many ground staff at Lufthansa earn minimum wage or just a little more than 13 euros per hour.

While it is known that the new deal will include ground staff receiving a pay rise, Lufthansa and ver.di are yet to reveal further details.

Lufthansa cabin crew continue industrial action

While the agreement with ground staff has been met, Lufthansa is still in hot water. In mid-March, Germany’s Independent Cabin Crew Organisation (UFO) union called on Lufthansa cabin crew to join the industrial action alongside ground staff.

The UFO is demanding that cabin crew receive a 15 percent pay rise for the next 18 months and an inflation compensation payment of 3.000 euros for some members. The airline and the union are yet to meet an agreement and will enter arbitration following the Easter holidays.

The demand comes after Lufthansa announced on March 7 that the airline made a profit of 2,7 billion euros in 2023, the “third-best financial result in the history of the Lufthansa Group" and was crowned Europe's Leading Airline for 2024 at the World Travel Awards in Berlin.

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