Pilots union gives Lufthansa time to resolve pensions dispute, averting possible strike

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany's pilots union VC is giving Lufthansa more time to resolve a pensions dispute, averting a possible strike at the airline for now, according to a union letter to its members obtained by Reuters on Saturday. The employer will again be requested, with a set deadline, to submit an offer in the talks that have been ongoing since May, the letter dated Friday stated. "We will grant management sufficient time for this, so that for the time being no industrial action is to be expected," it said, without specifying how much time it would give management. VC members had voted in favor of strike action in a ballot at the end of September, which Lufthansa averted with new rounds of talks that failed, however, to produce results. The union is demanding higher employer contributions to company pension plans for the 4,800 cockpit employees of the core airline brand Lufthansa and the cargo subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo. (Reporting by Ilona Wissenback in Frankfurt; Writing by Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Editing by Rod Nickel)

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