FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The next wage dispute threatens to escalate in the Lufthansa Group. The cabin crew union Ufo has unilaterally broken off salary negotiations for around 18,000 flight attendants of the parent company. "Even Lufthansa's latest offer is not enough," it said in a circular to members on Wednesday after 14 days of negotiations.

The cabin crew union barely concealed the threat of a strike, although a decision had not yet been made by the bargaining committee. It wrote: "The sharpest sword of a trade union is so obvious that we don't even have to say it separately. But one thing is clear: we are prepared to take the path of last resort."

In Europe's largest aviation group, pilots and flight attendants at the subsidiary Discover recently went on strike in order to force a first collective agreement. According to Verdi, the first warning strikes are also imminent among ground staff at several Lufthansa subsidiaries.

"We therefore lack any understanding for the termination at this point in time," explained Lufthansa. Solutions could only be worked out at the negotiating table. The company is therefore calling on Ufo to resume negotiations./ceb/DP/jha