FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Lufthansa passengers can breathe a sigh of relief. At least for Easter and the days after, there is no threat of new strikes at the core company of Europe's largest aviation group, and German airports will also be spared further industrial action at least until April 7. However, the agreement reached by mediators with Verdi for ground staff cannot hide the fact that further conflicts are smouldering within the Group with its numerous collective bargaining partners, which could disrupt flight operations again at any time - just in time for the summer flight schedule, when the airlines are ramping up their programs again.

The most recent example was provided by the crews of the Austrian subsidiary Austrian, who canceled around 400 flights with a strike until midday on Friday. Around 50,000 passengers are affected, who are being offered free rebookings or cancelations. Pilots and flight attendants want to catch up with their Lufthansa colleagues in terms of wages and put the gap at 40 percent. The workforce will discuss further measures at the beginning of April.

Up to 18 percent more pay

Following successful arbitration, the approximately 25,000 ground employees of the Lufthansa parent company in Germany will now receive an average of 12.5 percent more pay over a period of 24 months, as both sides reported on Thursday. Base amounts in both stages ensure that the lower salary groups will benefit more than average with up to 18 percent. In addition, there are further bonuses and a two-part inflation bonus totaling 3,000 euros. The agreement is still subject to a consultation with Verdi members, who had already voted in favor of an indefinite strike in a ballot.

It is the large number of airlines and unions that makes collective bargaining so difficult at Lufthansa, which is so sensitive to strikes. On Wednesday, mediators Bodo Ramelow and Frank-Jürgen Weise had expressed the hope that the laboriously reached compromise for ground staff would be the starting point for a "new Lufthansa" that would be united against the partly unfairly subsidized competition. Verdi negotiator Marvin Reschinsky also promised to fight "hand in hand" for a good Lufthansa and a good product.

Listen carefully, point out differences

By their own admission, the arbitrators listened carefully, pointed out differences and then got the social partners to find solutions themselves. They had not developed any ambition to make their own proposals, said Thuringia's Minister President Ramelow, who as a Lufthansa customer would also like to see a functioning company. Many of the elements that ultimately contributed to the solution had already been included in the wage negotiations.

Reschinsky as well as Lufthansa personnel director Michael Niggemann firmly expected that their committees would follow the proposals of the arbitrators and finalize a key points paper on Thursday. The new contract for the approximately 25,000 ground staff is to be valid for two years until the end of 2025. This means that indefinite strikes by this group of employees have been averted. In a ballot, more than 90 percent of employees had already voted in favor of indefinite strikes. They must now be consulted again.

The approximately 19,000 flight attendants at Lufthansa and its regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline have already gone through a ballot and a first round of strikes. Negotiations have continued since then. The cabin crew union Ufo has given the all-clear for the holidays. Its collective bargaining expert Harry Jaeger said: "We will not spoil anyone's Easter celebrations. Instead, we will resume talks immediately after the holidays and struggle to find a solution at the negotiating table."

No result is foreseeable for the time being. Ufo has demanded 15 percent more money for a contract term of one and a half years. The union also wants an inflation adjustment bonus of 3,000 euros and higher bonuses.

Dispute also at Discover

Even more explosive is the conflict surrounding the comparatively young vacation flight subsidiary Discover Airlines, which still has no collective agreements for its approximately 2,000 employees almost three years after it was founded. Both the pilots of the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots' union and the cabin crew organized by Ufo have already tried to enforce the first collective wage agreements for coats and pay by means of strikes. So far without success, especially as Lufthansa is reportedly also talking to Verdi about possible collective agreements at the subsidiary. Should Verdi be awarded the contract, the relationship with the other two unions, which are particularly strong at the core airline, would be considerably strained.

Lufthansa has no influence on the wage negotiations for the approximately 25,000 employees of the private aviation security companies that check passengers and baggage at airports outside Bavaria. Here too, Verdi has already organized several waves of warning strikes and brought airports to a standstill. The solution is now to be found in arbitration, which will start on April 5 under the leadership of Bremen's State Councillor for Finance, Hans-Henning Lühr.

Summer flight schedule: More flights again from Easter Sunday

New labor disputes would hit Lufthansa and other airlines hard. This is because they will switch to the summer flight schedule from Easter Sunday - and thus ramp up their program. "It is therefore all the more important that the unions maintain a sense of proportion in the ongoing wage negotiations so that Germany can continue to catch up as an aviation location," said Matthias von Randow, Managing Director of the Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry (BDL). In contrast to its European neighbors, German aviation is recovering more slowly from the slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic./ceb/DP/he