The Independent Flight Attendants Organisation (UFO) has sharply criticised the terms of change from Lufthansa CityLine to Lufthansa City Airlines, which were published on Tuesday. According to UFO chairman Joachim Vázquez Bürger, this is a targeted attack on the collective bargaining conditions of cabin crews. He accuses Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa, of using the closure of CityLine and the establishment of City Airlines to circumvent collective bargaining obligations and create more cost-effective working conditions.
Spohr justified the closure of CityLine with tariff restrictions and the age-related decommissioning of regional aircraft. However, UFO considers this justification to be a pretext and sees it as an attempt to break away from union ties. The union had warned of this development years ago and sees the founding of Lufthansa City Airlines as an attack on established airlines and a threat to Germany as an aviation location through wage dumping.
UFO stresses that the previous promises made by the company's management, such as job security and growth, have not been kept. Instead, Lufthansa CityLine's cabin crew now face uncertain future prospects and worse working conditions at City Airlines. Vázquez Bürger announced that UFO would take all possible measures to ensure acceptable continued employment conditions for the affected employees.
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