Cargolux and Unions show will to compromise

Cargolux Boeing 747-8F
Cargolux Boeing 747-8F (© Cargolux, J. Fleck)

The Cargolux management met with representatives of the unions OGB‑L and LCGB today to drive forward negotiations on a new collective work agreement. The meeting was held in an open and constructive atmosphere and both sides showed their mutual willingness to compromise. The number of open items was significantly reduced and a common ground has been reached on several points. All agreements are subject to the approval of the Cargolux Board of Directors.

Both parties arranged to set up working groups that will establish the collective work agreement texts on the closed, or close to being closed, items. While Cargolux dropped its call for time unit freezes, OGB-L agreed to lower entry salaries for new hires of both ground staff and pilots. Excellent progress was also made on other crew-related items which are close to a settlement.

The Cargolux management showed its willingness to cap the disputed growth of Cargolux Italia to four aircraft which was welcomed by the union representatives. Additionally, Cargolux will introduce a further aircraft to its Luxembourg-based fleet.

However, no progress has been made on Cargolux’s request to raise the number of available crew duty days to a minimum of 200 per year, up from the 186 today. Pilot representatives unfortunately indicated no willingness to move forward on this demand and still show a strong resistance without a reasonable counteroffer. The number of 200 crew duty days is still lower than the industry average; as a comparison, Cargolux Italia crews work 236 days per year.

The negotiations are still going on and are expected to continue into the night.

Cargolux