Cabin crew at German flag-carrier Lufthansa have ruled out strike action for the next six weeks as labour representatives and company executives engage in a mediation process.

Members of the UFO union launched three days of strikes earlier this month, grounding hundreds of flights.

“It’s unrealistic to think mediation lasts less than six weeks,” union representative Nicoley Baublies told Reuters.

Lufthansa and union representatives on Friday agreed to begin a formal mediation procedure set for Wednesday.

The airline earlier offered permanent contracts to some temporary cabin crew.

“Without preconditions and for a foreseeable time frame Lufthansa is going to resign from deploying external cabin crews in Berlin,” announced Lufthansa chief executive Christoph Franz

“With this decision we are taking a big step towards our social partners.

“We hope that this step will help the trade union UFO to, within the scope of constructive talks together with us, tread a path leading to a sustainable and competitive wage structure for our cabin staff.”

Previous talks broke down and strikes forced Lufthansa to cancel over 1,000 flights, after 13 months of negotiations over pay and working conditions.