Lufthansa, workers union seek arbitration as wage dispute negotiations fail

BERLIN (Reuters) -Lufthansa on Thursday said it agreed with labour union Verdi to seek arbitration of the collective wage dispute after the latest round of negotiations over pay increases for the airline's ground staff failed to reach results.

"The arbitration process should be concluded as quickly as possible and there should be a peace obligation during the arbitration," the company said in a statement, meaning the union would not call for further strikes for the time being.

Verdi said Lufthansa must promise to reach a result in the arbitration by March 30th and then recognise it, adding that the union will hold a strike vote among employees from the beginning of next week.

The union has been demanding 12.5% pay increase for approximately 25,000 employees for twelve months, in addition to an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros.

Ground staff walked off the job at major airports twice last month, which Lufthansa said had affected 100,000 passengers.

Pay negotiations for almost 20,000 flight attendants at the main brand and at the regional subsidiary Cityline are still ongoing.

(Reporting by Ilona WissenbachWriting by Riham AlkousaaEditing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)