Germany: Ufo flight attendants union launches strike at Lufthansa

Coming back from a vacation might be tricky in Germany. On Tuesday, August 26, the small flying personnel union, Ufo, called on Lufthansa's 19,000 flight attendants to take part in strike action starting today. Without giving a specific date, the union announced that, at first, the strikes would be "temporary and local" before leading to a "general, open-ended strike." The stoppages will only be announced a few hours before they start. Collective negotiations between the German airline and Ufo failed on Monday night, notably because of appeal to temporary work and the transfer of staff towards a new low-cost company. (Ref. 120495)
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In addition to a 5 percent wage increase over 15 months after three years without a raise, the Ufo union (10,000 members) is asking the airline to stop recruiting temporary flight attendants. Besides, the union is vigorously rejecting the transfer of about 2,000 employees towards a new low-cost company Lufthansa is creating. The German press revealed that the company, which is showing a heavy deficit in Europe, is allegedly planning to gather its “short-haul flights” and its Germanwings opera

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