A union that represents the majority of Lufthansa’s flight attendants has asked the airline to give its members a one-time, €3,000 tax-free “inflation bonus” as compensation.
The UFO union declared on Thursday that the bonus was “urgently needed” and that the airline’s situation had “never been better” following its unexpected 1.5 billion Euro profit last week.
“It can only be logical to let the employees participate fully in the success of Lufthansa with the inflation premium and to support them financially,” commented Daniel Kassa Mbuambi, chairman of the UFO union.
“The time has never been better: The crisis seems to be over, and Lufthansa is making profits again,” Mbuambi continued.
In November of last year, as the airline was still recovering from the pandemic’s impact, the union and the company negotiated a salary agreement. At the time, Lufthansa eliminated “unloved” part-time working arrangements and increased flight attendant pay by an average of 12%.
Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa, stated last week that the airline company had had a “extraordinary financial turnaround” and that its performance had been “far better” than anticipated.
Despite its financial success, Lufthansa has recently experienced labor issues with various work groups over wages and working conditions. Last July, a major walkout by the ground crew crippled the carrier, and pilots also threatened to go on strike over a different issue.
Since 2019, the flight attendants of Lufthansa have not gone on strike.
Photo credit: be-lufthansa.com/
