The Air France union has announced two new strike days on the 10th and 11th April. Employees demand a salary increase of 6%.
The strike movement continues. The Air France union , in wage conflict with management since February, announced Sunday a new strike , this time of two days, 10 and 11 April, have learned from trade union sources.
Air France staff, all professions combined, has already stopped work three times, on February 22, March 23 and 30. A fourth day is scheduled Tuesday, at the same time as the SNCF, and another Saturday, on the eve of the second strike period announced at the SNCF.
A “stubborn refusal” of management
With this new movement, the Air France union will take over from this second two-day strike of railway workers.
In a reaction to the AFP Sunday night, Air France “deplores this new call to strike, even as the leadership has invited the trade unions for new meetings of negotiations.
She reiterated to representatives of the inter-union her proposal for compensation for the decline in purchasing power for some staff, already made in mid-March and analyzed by the inter-union as an attempt to divide, and invites them to meet her “Wednesday, April 4” on this subject.
As for the pilots, a new meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 5, she says.
We must “privilege dialogue” to avoid the strike and “limit the impact on the still fragile economic situation of the company,” insists the management of the airline.
In a statement released on Sunday, the three pilot unions (SNPL, Spaf, Alter) denounced “the obstinate refusal” of the management to “take into consideration the least of (their) demands”.
“We decided to continue the strike by asking two more days.”
They were joined by the whole of the inter-union – the hostesses and stewards (SNPNC, Unsa-PNC, Unac, CFTC, SNGAF) and ground staff (CGT, FO and SUD) – according to several of its members.
In a statement released later, it emphasizes that management “does not seem to take seriously the determination of employees and the inter-union”.
Impossible to offer more
“Despite a dishonest communication from Air France, the effectiveness of the strikes remains important,” with “54% of the 465 flights planned from a base” on March 30th “cancelled or chartered” from another company, ” 51% of long-haul flights impacted and 55% of medium-haul flights, “writes Inter-union.
During the last strike Friday, Air France had announced the maintenance of 76% of scheduled flights . In detail, it planned to provide 80% of long-haul flights and as many short-haul flights, to Orly and the province, as well as 70% of the medium-haul flights to and from Roissy.
Employees demand a salary increase of 6%, considering insufficient the salary policy of the company, given the past efforts of employees and the good results of the company in 2017.
Management granted a general increase of 0.6% on 1 April and 0.4% on 1 October, as well as an envelope of individual increases (bonuses, promotions, seniority …) of 1.4% ground. With the envelope of incentives (130 million), it is “200 million euros” will be redistributed, said Thursday the chief executive of Air France, Franck Terner.
The company says it can not offer more without weakening its growth.
