Lufthansa and Cockpit union name arbitrators for pay dispute

Lufthansa and the German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit have named the mediators who will oversee arbitration in their ongoing labour dispute. All positions in the process are now filled.

The union has put forward Bodo Ramelow, a former state premier of Thuringia who now serves as a deputy speaker of the Bundestag, to represent it across all three arbitration tracks.

Lufthansa has selected Roland Koch, a former state premier of Hesse, to handle arbitration for Lufthansa Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo. For Eurowings and the now-defunct Lufthansa Cityline, the airline named labour law specialist Günther Heckelmann as its arbitrator.

The three arbitration proceedings are meant to resolve outstanding pay questions between the airline group and its pilots. Alongside them, a separate mediation process is planned to address broader issues affecting the relationship between the two sides.

No timeline was given for when the arbitration sessions themselves might begin. Nor were details provided on the specific pay demands at the centre of the dispute.