PILOTS AT German national carrier Lufthansa agreed last night to return to negotiations and suspend a four-day strike that caused 3,200 flight cancellations in its first day yesterday.
The deal ends what had threatened to be the biggest work stoppage in German aviation history, and came after a two-hour meeting at Frankfurt’s labour court yesterday evening.
“Finally, we have a basis for constructive talks,” said a Lufthansa spokesperson last night.
The breakthrough came as British Airways faced up to the prospect of its first strike in more than a decade after the company’s 12,000 cabin crew voted for a walkout in a dispute over staffing levels.
Almost 81 per cent of those voting backed a stoppage, with the turnout close to 79 per cent, the Unite union said yesterday.
“This is a clear indication of the deep sense of grievance our members feel,” Len McCluskey, Unite’s assistant general secretary, said at a news conference in London, without specifying when a strike might be held.
Any action must begin within a month and could start next week, according to British law.
Though Lufthansa pilots officially returned to work at midnight last night, schedule disruptions are likely to continue until tomorrow.
Pilot union Cockpit warned that the strike had only been suspended until March 8th, pending agreement in a dispute over pay and job security.
Pilots accuse Lufthansa of trying to outsource them into foreign subsidiaries under worse pay and conditions. The company denies the claims.
Airlines are reeling from the aviation industry’s worst year ever, in which demand dropped faster than capacity could be cut, but workers are becoming increasingly impatient with pressure from employers to tighten their belts.
“We would just like to get home after such a long flight,” said Brawn van Mulheim, a Lufthansa passenger stalled in Munich on his way from New York to Brussels.
Europe’s national flag carriers have been trying to cut their costs as they lose market share to low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet, whose no-frills offers lure customers looking to cut their travel spending.
Lufthansa is trying to cut €1 billion of costs by 2011, to become more lean while expanding abroad.
Last September, Lufthansa completed a shopping spree adding Brussels Airlines, Austrian Airlines and BMI to its stable of carriers. It also started Lufthansa Italia.
Meanwhile, British Airways wants three-quarters of its crew to accept a pay freeze this year, and for 3,000 staff to switch to part-time working, along with a reduction in onboard crewing levels from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights from London Heathrow. – (Additional reporting Reuters / PA)
