The strike comes just days after the German airline was forced to cancel almost all its flights on Friday due to a pilots' walk-out, affecting 130,000 passengers.
With inflation soaring, collective salary bargaining is expected to be tense in the coming months across Europe.
(Andre Pain / AFP)
A union representing pilots at German carrier Lufthansa are set to stage a two-day strike starting Wednesday unless the company makes a “serious” offer in talks over pay increases. "Despite announcements to the contrary, Lufthansa has not yet approached us and has not put forward a new offer," Vereinigung Cockpit union said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This is absolutely incomprehensible and leads to a further unnecessary escalation of the situation."
Passenger pilots will strike on Wednesday and Thursday, and cargo pilots from Wednesday through Friday.
READ MORE: Over a thousand flights cancelled as Lufthansa staff go on strikeUnion demands The Vereinigung Cockpit union, which groups more than 5,000 pilots has called for a 5.5 percent raise for its members this year and an inflation-busting 8.2 percent increase in 2023. Pilots are also seeking a new pay and holiday structure.
The airline says those measures would increase its staffing costs by about 40 percent, or around 900 million euros ($900 million) over two years.
It has instead offered a one-off increase of 900 euros ($900), amounting to a 5 percent increase for senior pilots and an 18 percent increase for those starting the profession.
READ MORE: Hundreds of flights cancelled in Germany as Lufthansa pilots go on strike
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
