FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Two specialised unions at Deutsche Lufthansa’s leisure airline Discover on Wednesday said they were preparing strikes after talks over working conditions at the unit have not yielded results, challenging an accord struck by another union.
Strike ballots will start on Thursday and last until Wednesday next week, pilots’ union VC and cabin crew union UFO said in a statement.
VC President Andreas Pinheiro said the aim was to achieve collective agreements with better conditions for workers.
He added the airline could avoid strikes by resuming and concluding negotiations with VC and UFO.
VC and UFO are rivals of the much bigger services union Verdi. Last week, Verdi struck a collective bargaining agreement with Discover for the first time since the Lufthansa brand began operating in 2021, following several strikes.
The agreement at the time covered 500 cockpit workers and 1,400 members of the cabin crew.
A Discover spokesperson on Wednesday pointed to the deal struck with Verdi. “Our focus is now on ensuring that the collective agreement is implemented and can take effect”, she said.
Discover hailed the deal last week, arguing it would give passengers confidence in their travel plans after strikes at various airlines have hit the industry in recent years.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, writing by Thomas Seythal, editing by Ludwig Burger)
