The United Services Union (ver.di) and the Lufthansa Group have reached a comprehensive collective bargaining agreement for more than 20,000 ground staff after four rounds of negotiations. The agreement is still subject to approval in the ver.di member survey, which will begin shortly.
Base salaries of ground staff will be increased.
According to the agreement, the basic salaries of ground staff will be increased in two stages by a total of 4.65 percent: retroactively from January 1, 2026, by 2.2 percent (only at Deutsche Lufthansa AG: from January 1, 2027), and from March 1, 2027, by a further 2.4 percent. Apprenticeship allowances will also increase in two stages by a total of €100. In addition, the negotiating parties have agreed on a financial upgrade for technical professions, resulting in an additional income increase (up to five percent). Lower incomes at Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Technik Logistics Services will be increased disproportionately via a base amount and a supplement, respectively. Furthermore, additional allowances will be introduced.
Advantage for trade unionists
The agreement also includes a benefit for union members: ver.di members will receive three additional days off during the term of the collective bargaining agreement. Furthermore, a key objective for the union in this round of negotiations was to prevent the outsourcing of Lufthansa personnel from passenger and aircraft handling to companies with lower wages. This was achieved through a comprehensive, eight-year outsourcing protection agreement.
The new collective agreement has a term of 26 months, until the end of February 2028.
“This collective bargaining agreement provides security in uncertain times,” said ver.di negotiator Marvin Reschinsky on Friday. “Employees will have an average of around €220 more per month in their pockets. At the same time, the outsourcing, which has been frequently discussed in recent months and hung like a threat over ground staff, is now ruled out for the foreseeable future. All in all, this is a good result – but one that was only achievable thanks to the enormous support of the workforce.”
Employees from approximately 20 group companies
Lufthansa ground staff includes employees from approximately 20 group companies working in check-in, passenger services, aircraft maintenance and engineering, cargo and logistics, and administration. These companies include Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Technik AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG, Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services, Lufthansa Engineering Operational Services, and Lufthansa Systems.
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