Baggage handlers at Swissport see colleagues leaving en masse and the number of unsafe situations is increasing: little has improved in working conditions at baggage handling companies at Schiphol. This is evident from conversations the NOS carried baggage porters.
An internal Swissport memo, obtained by NOS, states that a security incident occurred in October. An aircraft was overloaded, after which the team leader involved was suspended. The FNV trade union also sees an increase in unsafe situations.
The NOS spoke with Erik (42)*, who until recently had a leadership position within Swissport. “It could have gone wrong. There was one zero too few on the form. The pilot realized it in time, otherwise we could have taken the aircraft off the runway in pieces.”
The baggage handlers deny that too high a workload leads to unsafe situations.
It is clear to Erik that the incident is the result of the workload. “This colleague already had to deal with irritated passengers and crew on a flight. He arrived at the other flight with a delay and barely a break.”
Small and large incidents
FNV director Jaap de Bie also sees a connection between the workload and safety incidents at the handling companies, he tells the NOS: “Under that enormous workload, there are more and more incidents and minor accidents involving equipment and people. Think of minor collisions with dollies, but also minor incidents involving physical damage or incidents to the aircraft themselves.”
He is happy that the baggage handlers will be available from January 19 percent higher wages but is concerned about working conditions and staff shortages. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has not received any indications of safety incidents at the airport.
No report
Baggage handler Swissport does not comment on the incident with the heavy load. It is therefore not clear why the company did not report this to the ILT. The company denies that the workload leads to unsafe situations. “Complying with procedures always takes precedence over speed.”
The team leader was suspended, given a final warning and his end-of-year bonus was withdrawn. He also had to undergo training before he was allowed to work again. According to several employees, the latter was eventually withdrawn due to the staff shortage. Jaap de Bie questions the employer’s approach: “The culture should be aimed at discussing mistakes rather than punishing them.”
An overview obtained by the NOS shows that fourteen foremen left the baggage handler Swissport in 2023 out of a total of 37. They lead the teams on the aircraft platform when loading and unloading aircraft.
For example, Jordy (32) switched to KLM because of his dissatisfaction with Swissport: “No breaks, carts that were not ready, too few people. Many people leave or get burned out.”
Massively understaffed
Swissport said in a response that ‘it is quite normal for people to stop after the high season.’ “We employed more people this summer than in previous years. Our employees are always trained and qualified.”
But the FNV does find this trend worrying. “Those foremen are responsible for quality and safety. With fourteen fewer foremen, you are simply massively understaffed. They lack ears and eyes and an accident could happen just around the corner.” The union wants minimal staffing at baggage handlers. Schiphol is currently investigating this measure.
Lifting robots
The now outgoing cabinet previously decided that the number of baggage handlers at Schiphol would be increased by 2025 should be halved from six to three handling companies at Schiphol. All baggage handlers have already received training from September due to poor working conditions imposed a monthly fine.
Luggage carriers now also receive help from mechanical lifting aids, but complain that there are few available and these are not distributed fairly.