Lufthansa Moves To Avert Pilot Strike

Lufthansa has urged
the German pilots union VC to return to talks as the airline tries to starve off another costly strike over changes to an early retirement scheme.
Vereeniging Cockpit (VC), which represents most of Lufthansa’s 5,400 pilots, said it was willing to comeback to the table if Lufthansa put forward new proposals.
As soon as there is an offer worth discussing, we’re ready to reopen talks, VC board members market Wahi told Reuters new agency.
According to Reuters, VC decided on immanent industrial action after it said on Friday that talks about the retirement scheme had failed. However  left the timing of any strike open.
“We would definitely announce srike actions a day ahead of time,” wahi said.
Earlier last Monday, Lufthansa board member Bettina Volkens said the company wanted, to avoid industrial  action.
“We are looking for a compromise and can’t understand why the talks have been described as a failure,” she told reporters.
The row  with the pilots relates to provisions for an early retirement scheme that dates back 50 years.
Lufthansa pilots could only work until the age of 55, meaning there was an eight-year gap between the end of their career and the legal retirement age in Germany.
The pilots want to ensure their members still have the right to retire early if they wish, without losing the provision.
Lufthansa had cancelled the scheme with effect as of this year (but ??? a three-day strike in April over he same issue it said it would keep the provisions in place until 2016, to allow more time for negotiations.
The three day walkout in April cost Lufthansa EUR #60 million in lost profits in the first half of the year.
Rarmund Mucller head of flight operations at Munich, said he believed the pilots would give 24 hours notice of any strike and that any action would not be as widespread as April’s nationwide strike.
Volkens said Lufthansa would like to agree a timetable with the pilots union for teh talks, self agreement is not reached by a certain date both sides can call for arbitration.