Lufthansa bows to super union

Lufthansa returns to the air after giving in to strikers

Germany's new super union ver.di has won its first labour dispute, securing Lufthansa ground and cabin staff a pay rise and bonus.

The airline conceded to union demands and offered an extra 0.9% wage hike to 3.5% and a 1,600 Deutschemark (£510) bonus in a new 14-month contract after airline staff walked out last week.

Ground crew won concessions from Lufthansa after strike

The contract was the first negotiated by the new service union, ver.di, founded last week by five smaller unions in an effort to boost their bargaining power.

About 9,000 Lufthansa employees went on strike on Friday to press the union's pay demands, causing chaos at most major German airports.

The deal takes effect from 1 April for the carrier's 55,000 German-based employees.

More trouble ahead

Further strikes have been threatened by Lufthansa's 4,200 pilots and co-pilots after wage talks broke up without any resolution last Thursday.

Lufthansa shares fell almost 1% as trade began in Frankfurt on Monday morning after losing 1.6% on Friday over press reports that internal company documents forecast the airline was expecting operating profits to be cut by more than half this year.

Earlier this month Lufthansa reported a better than expected 44% increase in 2000 profits of 1.04bn euros ($948m, £678.7m).