The flight attendant union UFO and Lufthansa have been fighting a legal dispute over the application of collective agreements for pensions for a long time. The Federal Labor Court has now decided in several contracts.

This could affect several existing collective agreements. According to Lufthansa, the written grounds for the judgment are not yet available. The legal dispute concerns collective agreements that were concluded in 2003 with UFO and Verdi. These were terminated by the employer on December 31, 2021.

A new agreement was then concluded, but only with UFO. Over the years, this union is said to have developed into the largest number of members in the crane cabin sector. The Federal Labor Court decided on the basis of six individual lawsuits brought by flight attendants that they are entitled to the "old pension scheme" that they were suing. The proceedings dragged on across all instances over several years.

According to Lufthansa, the Federal Labor Court stated that “there cannot be a combination of different collective bargaining systems”. Specifically, this would mean, for example, that for plaintiffs who insist on applying the “old pension scheme”, the - lower - collective wage agreement from 2009 that was applied at the time would also apply.

 The detailed written judgment is still pending. However, it cannot be ruled out that the legal situation presented by the BAG has an impact beyond the six individual cases and, if necessary, calls into question the current practice of applying the more recent collective agreements. The consequences of the judgment would then not only be limited to the so-called “old supply” desired by the plaintiffs.

Since the written reasons for the judgment are only expected in a few weeks or months, the possible effects on the tariff conditions of Lufthansa flight attendants cannot be reliably foreseen at the moment. Until final legal clarification, Lufthansa will not make any changes to the previous remuneration statements, but it must reserve the right to recalculate the remuneration, possibly combined with a partial reclaim.

Lufthansa will examine the legal situation immediately after receiving the reasons for the decision and initiate any changes resulting therefrom. In addition, Lufthansa has already approached the tariff partners in order to work with them to find a collective agreement.