Member Mail - Swiss Special November/2025
Wage Adjustments 2026 – We found a solution!
Dear Colleagues,
After two challenging days of negotiations with Swiss and several timeouts, an agreement on salary increases for 2026 was reached:
General Adjustments:
- All employees will receive a base wage increase of 1% or at least CHF 60.00 per full-time equivalent.
- All salary bands, including the salary curves in Technics (including other agreements and documents), will be raised by CHF 60.00 at both the minimum and maximum levels.
Individual Adjustments:
- In addition, individual salary adjustments amounting to 0.5% of the total wage sum will be implemented.
All employees who are in active employment (not under notice) as of 31 December 2025 will benefit from these adjustments.
Reporting to the social partners on the implementation of the salary adjustments will take place at the beginning of 2026 as part of a regular meeting, which will also cover the distribution of the individual shares.
Good to know!
Naturally, our demands were higher than the final result. Our assessment of the current situation and future perspectives differs from that of the Swiss management board. While we consider the company’s current and future standing within this sector to be stable and consistent, Swiss refers to uncertainties, profit declines, and cost-saving requirements from the parent company.
Fact 1: Our forecasts during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the duration of the recovery phase have clearly manifested in reality, whereas those of Swiss management were significantly off the mark.
Fact 2: Swiss remains the “cash cow” within Lufthansa Group and seems likely to remain in that role. The real cost drivers — stemming from fleet design and miscalculations in staffing needs — largely originate from the decisions and/or decision-making basis of the Group.
Fact 3: We have pointed out that the recorded inflation rate for 2025, as well as the rising health insurance premiums and developments in the housing market, are considerable drivers of living costs and necessitate corresponding wage developments.
Fact 4: The officially recognised inflation rate, even when including the health insurance premium index (KVPI), is unlikely to exceed 0.5% this year. Inflation has been offset by wage increases in recent years.
Evaluation
It is an entirely normal part of negotiations that one is never fully satisfied with the outcome. Still, the gap between our justified salary demands and the achieved result is unmistakable.
Nevertheless, a general measure equivalent to “double the inflation rate” combined with an additional 0.5% for individual increases is a result that can hold its own within the context of Swiss salary negotiations. The base amount also introduces an additional social component.
The resistance our members demonstrated during the failed wage negotiations for 2024 is now bearing fruit: our collective voice is being heard, and the tone of negotiations has changed.
Demands
Now it is crucial to keep at it – both individually and collectively:
- The distribution of the individual portion (0.5% of the total wage bill) largely lies at the discretion of line managers. It is now up to each and every employee to proactively approach their supervisor and make the case for why they deserve a share of the individual allocation.
- Swiss can provide proof of a “partnership on equal footing” in 2026 during the negotiations for the 2027 Collective Labour Agreement (CLA). Information on your participation will follow shortly.
- The increasingly close integration of Swiss within the Lufthansa Group must be monitored carefully. It cannot be that employees are made to bear the cost of poor decisions made by Lufthansa management – least of all those of Swiss, which continues to be a successful subsidiary.
Social partnership means constructive, critical vigilance and full commitment – in solidarity, with consistency, and a focus on solutions! For a strong CLA – achievable through a strong membership base!
Make sure all colleagues are members of SEV-GATA – with the clear goal of a strong CLA 2027!
Join now: Membership: SEV-GATA.
Best regards
Philipp Hadorn, President
SEV-GATA, your union in the aviation industry!
Philipp Hadorn, President GATA: SEV-Aviation
/ www.sev-gata.ch / www.sev-online.ch