Lufthansa and pilot union labor dispute

The labor dispute between Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the pilots' union, Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), has progressed from legal disagreements over communication rights to a broader arbitration process.

Initially, the union filed a complaint with the Cologne Labour Court seeking the right to contact pilots via official company email for membership recruitment. The union argued that digital communication is essential as pilots are frequently away from the cockpit, while Lufthansa had refused to permit such access. Representative Oliver Löwe noted that the service email is “the central communication medium between employer and employees within the workforce.”

Subsequently, Lufthansa and the VC agreed to enter a comprehensive arbitration process to resolve wider collective bargaining disputes. This agreement covers several subsidiaries, including Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Cityline, and Eurowings. The dispute involves salary, pensions, and the company’s strategy regarding crew and aircraft shifts to subsidiaries with lower tariff regulations. The conflict follows previous industrial actions, including seven strike days that Lufthansa estimated cost the company approximately 150 million euros, and the suspension of Lufthansa Cityline in April which led to the cancellation of roughly 20,000 summer flights.