Lufthansa pilots announce strike

Germany's pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit said Monday that its rank-and-file would strike from 8 a.m. to midnight (0600 until 2200 UTC) Tuesday for long-haul and cargo flights operated by Lufthansa.

Union and management have been locked in a dispute since April 2014 over management plans to change the pilots' early retirement arrangements that would scrap the ability of pilots to retire at age 55 and receive up to 60 percent of their salary until they are 65 years old.

The union said Monday that it had already made substantial concessions and accused management of seeking to "smash wage-agreement structures and demolish protective mechanisms in order to weaken the union."

Lufthansa, which also owns Swiss and Austrian Airlines, has embarked on a massive reorganization, outsourcing much of its domestic and medium-haul services to its low-cost airline division, Germanwings.

Pilots are concerned about Lufthansa's aim to further develop its low-cost activities as it faces growing competition. Strikes over the long running dispute has already reportedly cost the company more than 300 million euros (338.4 million dollars).

Tuesday's action will only affect the Lufthansa parent company, not the other airlines within the group, the pilots' union said in a statement.

jar/kms (AFP, dpa)