FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) said on Monday it had offered cabin crew additional retirement benefits if they worked beyond the age of 55 as well as wage increases in a bid to end a protracted labor dispute.
The German carrier is currently negotiating with staff from various parts of its business as it tries to cut costs to compete more effectively with low cost carriers and Gulf rivals.
Talks between management and union UFO, which represents some 19,000 flight attendants, have stretched on for almost two years and nearly resulted in strikes this summer, but the two sides agreed to continue talking, with the aim of reaching an agreement by November.
Lufthansa said under the offer it had presented to UFO on Monday, cabin crew workers could receive higher pensions -- equal to as much as 98 percent of their previous wages -- if they stayed in the job until they reached the age of 65.
They will still be allowed to take early retirement from the age of 55, but then their pensions will be equivalent to only about 43 percent of their wages, Lufthansa said, adding it would only keep offering benefits for early retirement to new workers for the next 10 years.
In addition, all cabin crew would receive a one-time payment of 2,000 euros ($2,264.40) each on top of their pay under the offer, and those who had been with the company since at least 2012 would also get wage increases by 1.7 percent in 2016 and again in 2017, it said.
Lufthansa has said low interest rates meant it could no longer afford the retirement scheme it has been offering to cabin crew, which cost it 3.7 billion euros last year.
The carrier is also negotiating with pilots, who have staged over a dozen strikes over the last 18 months, the most recent in September before a court called a end to the walkout.
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