Verdi and Discover Airlines agree on collective agreement for the first time

The Verdi union and the Lufthansa subsidiary Discover Airlines have agreed on a collective agreement for the first time.

Negotiations with the other two unions, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and the flight attendant union UFO, had previously failed. The salary increases for around 500 cockpit employees at the beginning of the year will be secured by a collective agreement, as Verdi announced on Friday. The salaries of the 1,400 cabin staff will therefore increase by 450 euros per month. According to the airline, the adjustments will apply from July 2024. In addition, both professional groups will receive an annual increase of five percent from 2025. According to Verdi, this means that pilots’ salaries will increase by at least 15.7 percent overall, and between 34.1 and 38.4 percent for cabin crew.

“We have now reached the long-awaited and temporarily stalled collective agreement at Discover Airlines,” said Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky. The result is well above the demands of the other unions. Discover CEO Bernd Bauer said the first collective agreement was an important milestone in the history of the young airline, which began flight operations in summer 2021. “We must not ignore the fact that the agreement also entails considerable cost burdens and restrictions on our planning flexibility. We have reached the limits of our economic performance here.” The wage and collective agreements run until the end of 2027.

A new development is exclusive special benefits for Verdi members. They receive half a month’s salary per year as a bonus, which can be exchanged for longer notice periods in the event of an economic crisis. Verdi achieved this in return for an agreement to call an arbitration board in the event of a dispute before a strike.

VC AND UFO COULD STRIKE

It is questionable whether this will bring peace to the Lufthansa subsidiary, which was hit by strikes at the beginning of the year. Labor disputes at Lufthansa and Discover in the spring cost half a billion euros in earnings, and Lufthansa had to lower its annual targets. The collective agreement is causing anger at VC and UFO. VC protested shortly before the talks with Verdi were concluded and announced a strike in the summer if Discover did not also conclude the almost final collective agreements with them. “The fact that collective bargaining is now to take place with a union that has no support among the workforce may seem easier for the employer at first glance, but it will not lead to a sustainable solution,” explained VC Managing Director Andreas Pinheiro.

UFO announced this week that the impending agreement with Verdi was a scandal, because together with VC they would have around 1,000 members, almost half of the workforce. According to UFO, Verdi’s representation is significantly weaker, which is why the flight attendants’ union demanded an immediate membership count. However, according to the Collective Bargaining Act, this is only possible if the competing unions also conclude a collective agreement. The agreement of the union with the most members would then apply. If the airline management refuses to conclude collective agreements with VC and UFO, compulsory strikes would be imminent.

(Report by Philipp Krach and Ilona Wissenbach, edited by Myria Mildenberger. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and business) or [email protected] (for companies and markets).