German airline Lufthansa has managed to avert further strike action from ground staff after reaching a pay rise agreement with trade union Verdi, both sides said on Thursday. Salaries for some 20,000 employees are due to increase by at least €325 ($333) per month, with a further 2.5% pay rise to be implemented in three stages, the two sides said. Verdi said the agreement would lead to salary increases of between 13.6% and 18.4% for individual employees, while Lufthansa said that those on the lowest salary level would be receiving pay increases of 19.2%. The agreement came after Lufthansa was f…