国际英语新闻:Lufthansa pilots to start two-day strike

BERLIN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Pilots of German airline Lufthansa were called for to walk out on Monday and Tuesday after talks over a labor dispute broke down, announced a trade union on Sunday.

The Germany-wide strike of short- and medium-range flight pilots would start at 12:00 local time (1100 GMT) on Monday and last until 23:59 (2259 GMT) on Tuesday, said German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) in a statement.

Pilots in long-haul flights, as well as those in cargo flights, would lay down their work from 3:00 (0200 GMT) to 23:59 (2259 GMT) on Tuesday.

The union is asking for a retirement package which allows Lufthansa pilots to retire early at 55 years old while receiving 60 percent of their salaries. Lufthansa only accepted an early retirement at 60 years old.

Several rounds of negotiations have been held, and the last one broke down last week.

Pilots have held eight strikes this year, forcing down thousands of flights and costing Lufthansa millions of euros in profit.