Lufthansa catering unit staff cancel December 2 strike - union

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Workers at Lufthansa's <LHAG.DE> catering unit LSG have cancelled a 24-hour strike that was planned for Dec. 2, German union Verdi said on Sunday, after the airline made an improved offer to protect wages at the division.

The strike was announced on Saturday and would have affected airports in Frankfurt, Munich, Duesseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart and Berlin, Verdi had said. The strike announcement came in response to a planned ownership change of the catering unit.

"We welcome the fact that Lufthansa is moving towards us," Katharina Wesenick, who is leading negotiations for Verdi, said in a statement.

Lufthansa this week said it was in final negotiations on the sale of its LSG catering division's European operations to Switzerland's Gategroup as part of plans to focus on its airline business.

The next round of talks is scheduled for Dec. 4, Verdi said.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Clarke)