After the Verdi union and Lufthansa had struggled over several rounds to reach a collective agreement for the ground staff of the Lufthansa subsidiaries ASL (Airport Service Leipzig) and ASD (Airport Service Dresden), an agreement has finally been reached.
The collective agreement provides for a significant salary increase and inflation compensation, which is intended to benefit employees at the eastern German airports in particular. As part of this compromise, the union's demands were partially met, but not to the extent that the employees had hoped.
At the end of a difficult and tough negotiation phase, the new offer was approved with a retroactive salary increase from October 2023 and a one-off payment of 3.000 euros to compensate for inflation. The monthly salary increase for ground staff amounts to 240 euros. This is progress, but falls short of Verdi's original demands. The union had demanded more than 850 euros per month and also an inflation compensation payment to reduce the wage differences between East and West German airports.
Different salaries in East and West Germany
A central theme of the collective bargaining was the wage gap between the locations in East and West Germany. Employees at Leipzig/Halle Airport and Dresden Airport sometimes earn significantly less than their colleagues in other parts of Germany, particularly at the large airports in West Germany. According to a wage table, ground workers in Leipzig and Dresden earn up to 1.300 euros less per month than their counterparts in Frankfurt, Munich or Hamburg. Verdi considered these differences to be intolerable, which is why the union went into negotiations demanding that wages be equalized.
The demand for wages to be brought into line with those at West German airports was a key concern of the union in order to better balance the cost of living in East Germany and to make jobs more attractive. Even if the salary increase of 240 euros does not reach the demanded 850 euros, it represents an improvement for employees who have had to live with different wages for years. The inflation compensation of 3.000 euros is also intended to help compensate for the increased cost of living, which has burdened many employees, especially in recent years.
Compromise and the obligation to maintain peace: A difficult agreement
After the third round of negotiations, it was clear that without an agreement, the situation could have escalated dramatically. Verdi had repeatedly threatened strikes and work stoppages in the past to emphasize its demands. Such industrial action would not only have affected the airport operators and airlines, but also a large number of passengers and other companies that depend on the operation of the airports. According to Paul Schmidt, Verdi's chief negotiator, the alternative to the compromise would have been an escalation that would have resulted in considerable follow-up costs for third parties and an unclear perspective for the employees.
The new negotiation result, which was accepted by 67 percent of Verdi members in the company, therefore provides for an "absolute obligation to maintain peace," which means that no further industrial action will take place after the agreement. In the coming months, further details on a balance of interests and a social plan are to be negotiated between the works councils and the employer. These negotiations are likely to be crucial in determining the long-term prospects of the employees and how the working environment at Leipzig/Halle Airport and Dresden develops.
Outlook: A step in the right direction, but not yet there
The agreement between Verdi and Lufthansa is an initial success for the ground staff of Lufthansa subsidiaries at the East German airports of Leipzig/Halle and Dresden, but the question of equalization with West German wages remains a central issue. The wage differences between the regions are still an unresolved problem that will keep coming back to the agenda in the coming years.
It will also be crucial how further negotiations on the reconciliation of interests and the social plan go. In the past, there have been repeated disagreements and tensions between the works councils and the company management, especially when it comes to working conditions and the long-term security of jobs. If there are further disputes here, this could further strain the atmosphere at the airport and the trust between employees and the employer.
Overall, however, the result achieved is an important step for employees in Leipzig and Dresden, who will experience a financial improvement at least in the short term with the new agreement. The challenge will be to secure this progress in the long term and to continue working on wage differences and working conditions in the coming years.
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