Lufthansa cabin crew union calls off strike

After the management agreed upon extending basic retirement and pension benefits, the main cabin crew union (UFO) at Lufthansa has withdrawn its strike call given for this week.

The latest strike taken by the cabin crew union was longest ever in the history of the German carrier, notes Yahoo News. The next meeting between the management and UFO is scheduled on 2 December.

Lufthansa airline is suffering from increased competition from Gulf state airlines. The cost cut drive taken by Lufthansa has damaged the relationship between management and union. The UFO had threatened the management about further walkouts as their demands are long-pending. 

According to a report by Reuters, the UFO and Lufthansa airline management on 25 November 2015 agreed on basic demands for retirement and pension benefits.

Both the sides are expected to sign an agreement in this regard soon. Lufthansa management and UFO will also hold discussions on exploring ways to boost the revenues and secure jobs.

Two other unions representing Lufthansa pilots and ground staff will also join the talks between cabin crew and management. All the three unions and Lufthansa management will further hold discussions on 2 December.

The Cabin crew union turned against the Lufthansa's unilateral decision on timing and agenda for the meeting. 

Early this month, UFO observed a strike for a week resulting in the cancellation of 4,700 flights and disrupting travel plans of 550,000 passengers.

Lufthansa's stock on Wednesday rose after the strike call off call given by UFO. The shares fell 4.5 percent on Tuesday. Moreover, the US travel alert following the downing of a Russian warplane on Syria border also put pressure on travel stocks.

UFO has cautioned the management that further agreements on jobs are needed and signed before the next meeting. So that it could avoid further strikes, said UFO.

The Lufthansa management and UFO held intensive talks over pension and retirement benefits for staff. Subsequently, the management turned flexible in extending retirement benefits and pension to staff, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The strike lasted till 13 November indicating longest strike period for Lufthansa airline. After previous discussions with management, UFO on Monday said there would be more walkouts on Thursday and Friday as there was no fresh assurance from the management.

Lufthansa management denied to furnish further details on an agreement with UFO. Lufthansa is suffering from rising competition from low-cost rivals in Europe and Gulf nations.

More particularly, the German is airline is bleeding on long-haul routes. The airline also suffered severely by walkouts by pilots. Earlier, UFO complained about the way management was communicating through the media rather than directly dealing with them.