OREANDA-NEWS. After the strategy meeting with board members of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and the Independent Flight Attendant Organisation (UFO) late last week, Lufthansa is confident that an agreement will be possible if negotiations continue. That is why a proposal put forward by Lufthansa to continue negotiations until 1 November has now been agreed – even for the Alliance for Growth and Employment whose negotiations were scheduled to run until 1 September. Among other things, the retirement and transitional benefits and the remuneration of cabin staff at Lufthansa Passenger will also be on the negotiating table. Lufthansa and the union have also agreed to bring an external, independent auditor into the talks to assess the costs and savings of the offers and demands. Moderation of the discussions at a later date will also be possible.

"The negotiations and package proposed by UFO are very extensive and with some issues we are still clearly very wide apart as regards contents. We have already found a good basis for further negotiations with other points. But we have a serious commitment to reaching settlements – in the interests of our customers, our employees and the entire company," says Dr Bettina Volkens, Chief Officer Corporate Human Resources and Legal Affairs at Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "I am convinced that we can find constructive solutions. This includes common solutions to increase our competitiveness. Because it's all about securing the success of our company in the long term and thus the jobs of our employees permanently," Volkens stresses.