Trade unions CNV and FNV reached a collective labor agreement with KLM on Friday for the airline’s ground staff. This is reported by the ANP news agency. KLM confirms NRC to have arrived at a ‘final result’. The union members still have to agree to the collective labor agreement.
If the members agree to the collective labor agreement, the ground staff will receive an additional 135 euros gross per month as of September. From October, wages will increase by 6 percent. Early next year, KLM employees will receive a one-off bonus of five hundred euros gross. A further 3 percent wage increase will follow in the summer. If inflation is higher than that percentage, the wage increase will increase further to a maximum of five percent.
According to calculations by FNV, this ultimately amounts to an average of 13.7 percent wage increase over two years. The lowest involves a wage increase of 15.8 percent. “With this increase, all employees have a living minimum wage of 16 euros per hour,” said FNV director David van de Geer in a statement.
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Permanent contract
In addition to the pay increase, the unions and KLM have also made agreements to ensure that ground staff can work safer and healthier. The airline has approximately 15,000 ground employees. For example, they tow airplanes or load and unload luggage. KLM previously received criticism from the labor inspectorate about the conditions in which ground staff worked. The staff would lift too much weight and work too long hours. Under the new agreements, more than five hundred people who are currently employed temporarily will also receive a permanent contract.
The new agreements follow an ultimatum given by KLM staff last week. Van de Geer is happy with the result: “There have been tough negotiations, and this result is only possible because so many colleagues are prepared to strike.” KLM calls the negotiation result in a statement “essential progress for all ground colleagues.”