The Cockpit Association sharply criticizes the management of Tui AG, because they are supposed to reject an arbitration conflict over a package of measures to deal with the crisis in the cockpits of its German airline subsidiary Tuifly. The employee representatives are now appealing that politicians, which have already granted the group three state aid, should intervene.
"The fact that Tui sweeps our proposal for an arbitration off the table so quickly is unwise in the current situation and testifies to the deeply rooted refusal of the employer," said Marcel Gröls, member of the board of the VC responsible for collective bargaining policy. “We are convinced that we can find a constructive solution. Should the state take a substantial part in TUI, as was recently discussed in media reports, politicians must become aware of their responsibility for German jobs and support arbitration. Tui would like to use German taxpayers' money to carry out a restructuring that will cut jobs in Germany and build them abroad. Finance Minister Scholz and Economics Minister Altmeier will of course also be measured in their crisis competence by whether they have succeeded in preventing such escapades. "
Most recently, the plans provided that the fleet of the German Tuifly should be reduced by about half. According to the VC, up to 270 pilots are facing termination. The employee representatives criticize the fact that the other group-owned airlines are being cut significantly less. In some cases, new hires were even made. In the negotiations between Vereinigung Cockpit and the Tuifly management, no agreement has yet been reached. Most recently, the union called for arbitration, which, according to the VC, is rejected by the airline.
“We very much hope that Tui is finally ready to talk and agrees to be mediated by an arbitrator. If the company refuses, the employees will have their backs to the wall. Then, unfortunately, the only option left to us as a last resort is via a collective bargaining plan. We will use all means at our disposal to make it clear to the corporate management that a wave of layoffs is the most expensive of all possibilities, ”said Gröls.