Lufthansa cabin crew strike on Thursday and Friday: union

Just a few days after the longest strike in the history of German flagship carrier Lufthansa, cabin workers are set to return to the picket lines this week, their union UFO announced on Monday. Union head Nicoley Baublies said members would strike on Thursday, Friday, and on November 30 if management did not meet their demands by then.

"We hope that this will finally bring serious movement in this labor dispute and that we will not be forced to strike in December as well," said Baublies

Earlier this month, members of the UFO union staged a seven-day walkout that saw 4,700 flights canceled, affecting roughly 550,000 travelers.

This latest series of strikes comes after a long-standing disagreement between the union and Lufthansa over the company’s desire to change retirement provisions. As Lufthansa introduces cost-cutting measures to face stark competition from Gulf state airlines, UFO wants to be sure transition payments remain in place for its 19,000 members if they chose to retire early.

The German airline has faced multiple disputes with employees in recent years, with pilots also staging a string of walk-outs over plans to cut their access to early retirement.

es/msh (AFP, dpa)