Lufthansa cabin crew strike

[flowman]

German news channels reporting possibility of a Lufthansa cabin crew strike this morning. Does anyone have any more info?

[mrloop]

German news ticker was saying last night it was a 'warnstreik' lasting three hours from 0615 at Frankfurt.

From the Lufthansa website:
Warning Strike at Frankfurt airport The cabin crew union 'UFO' has announced a warning strike for today, Friday 23rd January 2009 from 06:15 - 09:15 local time at Frankfurt airport. Lufthansa is doing its utmost possible to reduce the impact on flight operations. However irregularities on domestic and continental routes to or from Frankfurt might be unavoidable. The intercontinental traffic is expected to operate regularly.

[zuhura]

Unfortunately, there is more strike to be expected at least through next week, maybe also into February. :ugh:

Zuhura

[Al Fakhem]

Always good to see that in times when a large cross-section of the population is wondering about the security of its jobs, LH CC flaunt the luxury of striking :D

[chuks]

A luxury is usually defined as something not strictly necessary. Are you suggesting that the cabin crew are striking just because they can?

There must be some underlying reason for going on strike, probably terms and conditions, and German labour law protects the right to take industrial action so "Good luck!" is all I can think.

[onboard]

In the 19 years I've been working for Lufthansa, we've had more than one crisis, and we CC have always contributed our part to surviving them.
Without going into the details, I can say that our current management has for the last few years been taking away from us over and over, promising to give back in the future. Needless to say, it hasn't happened. One of the main reasons for the strike dates back a while, and unfortunately our wages and work conditions are up for negotiation now. Not when this crisis is past.
So we have to deal with the issues now.
We are not going on strike because of petty little issues, but because we have to.
Already some of our new CC living in MUC (stationed there, not commuting) receive welfare in addition to their pay working full time.
In the last two years LH has made over 1 billion in profits and they have just told the press that even for this year their prognosis is close to that.
And Al Fakhem, LH CC have NEVER flaunted the luxury of striking, and we're not doing it now.

[Ludo]

Good luck to LH CC onboard :)

Are you suggesting that the cabin crew are striking just because they can?

I agree with you chucks. What I think is that in some countries working conditions are eroded just because the beancounters think they can. And they are right if people let them do it. All tehy need is to claim that the workers targeted have privileges and that the whole company is going to suffer because they didn't accept pay cuts and worse working conditions. See where this philosophy led the economy in the US :rolleyes: CEOs still getting humongous bonuses while the companies are being bailed out at the expenses of the taxpayer (so much for liberalism!) and workers losing their jobs. .

[girtbar]

I find it slightly annoying that we have had reports of Flight Deck from other airlines (excluded Alitalia!) over the last while thinking about going for strike action over their T&C's and nothing is said. Yet almost every time Cabin Crew even mention the word strike people seem to coming flying out of the woodwork to say how dare we, or worse you should be thankful you have a job. I swear if i hear that once more!!

Cabin Crew are often treated like idiots, but when the final straw is placed on the camels back and we finally stand up it seems to scare people, so their first reaction is tut tut, settle down now, your not supposed to get upset and question the latest round of cuts!

Cabin Crew are not organized as well as the Flight Deck or have as strong unions as Flight Deck. Several reasons for that, but that means our T&C's are often eroded faster than other departments.

Over the last couple of years Cabin Crew productivity has soared. We generally have higher work loads than previous due to minimum crew and additional responsibilities placed upon us. Tighter turn arounds, longer days etc. Most crew will get on with it, and to stay competitive rightly so, but that doesn't mean that we should have to loose any right to keep or enhance our T&C's or ask for a decent pay raise to reflect the often damn hard and demanding work we do!

We're not flight deck, we don't expect to be rewarded so, but we are just as important to the company and we should be treated accordingly to reflect hard work we put into the airline.

After all, we spend longer with the driving force of the business, our passengers.

You pay peanuts, and treat us like monkeys??

[zuhura]

I am also LH cabin crew but maybe with too many friends in biz jet aviation. I won't post any details other than what can be found in the press, but Lufthansa is offering a package of 6,1% plus for us in the middle of this economic crisis. The union demands 15%. Just to make clear that we are not expecting any cuts anyway.
I am working fulltime and have a workload that others would expect with a part time job. And although I have a new contract (which was mentioned above as fit to receive social welfare) I earn more than a lot of co-pilots in other companies.
The problem I encounter much too often is that we have too many people within Lufthansa who grew up there and still think that God invented flying and Lufthansa made it better. Of course, if one never looks beyond one's own nose one may still believe that this financial crisis is NOT an economic crisis and doesn't affect us at all.
I for my share would be happy if my employer could take the plus from last year to manage us through this crisis because I hope to still have this fantastic job when this crisis is over.

Zuhura

[VAFFPAX]

6.1% is more than what I'm getting this year. I am getting 0%, in addition to the 0% increase last year... 15% is, to be honest, asking too much... go down to 10% and they might find that management might budge a little more.

But, to be fair, when you guys and girls struggle to make ends meet because taxes and incidentals rise at 3x inflation and you're already scraping the barrel where expenses are concerned, then yes, strike if that means you get enough to keep your salary going up in unison with inflation.

S.

[onboard]

Well Zuhura,

Nice to hear you're happy with your contract.
I however, as I mentioned, have been in the company for quite a while, so I see things differently.
One thing though: LH is not offering 6.x percent, and the 15 percent is just a label as most of the things we're striking for are not pay related, but work conditions. Most of which have been promised for years, and have never been granted.
For both of us things are quite simple, you won't strike, I will.
Whatever comes of it, I hope you too can enjoy whatever we achieve.