Will travelers at Schiphol never again experience such chaos with their suitcases as in the summer of last year? Roos Rahimi and Michel van de Stolpe do not dare to guarantee it. But the collective labor agreement that they have agreed together for all three thousand airport employees who work at the six independent baggage handling companies must be a first step.
Rahimi negotiated on behalf of the trade union FNV Aviation, Van de Stolpe on behalf of the Employers’ Association Passenger and Baggage Handling Aviation (WPBL). He is also HR director at Swissport, one of the larger handling companies in the Netherlands. Handlers and unions have been discussing a sector-wide collective labor agreement for twenty years that should provide more peace of mind and security for relatively low-paid baggage workers.
In recent years, competition has intensified between the handling companies at Schiphol and the smaller regional airports in the Netherlands. Six independent handlers are now active at Amsterdam airport. In addition, KLM has its own baggage company. Elsewhere in Europe, airports have only two or three handlers.
In recent years, the seven service providers at Schiphol mainly tried to steal each other’s customers, the airlines, by stunting with rates. For airlines, this made Schiphol one of the cheapest airports in Europe. “Schiphol wants to remain an attractive hub, but that should no longer be at the expense of employees,” says Roos Rahimi. “The battle was over the backs of the staff.” FNV has long referred to this development as the ‘race to the bottom’.
The WPBL also acknowledges in a joint statement with the FNV that the fierce competition between the luggage companies has been at the expense of the employment conditions of the employees. „A sector-wide, generally binding collective labor agreement based on this result will put an end to the race to the bottom and a more level playing field between providers”, say the negotiators. In the past, handlers sometimes found themselves in a competitor’s company cafeteria recruiting staff when they landed a new order.
Employers and employees have now agreed, among other things, that all employees will receive an average wage increase of 7.5 percent. Many employees who now earn just above the minimum wage will gain more than 30 percent in the next three years. Agreements have also been made about income security, irregular working hours and ‘healthy and vital working’ up to and including the state pension age. The collective labor agreement has a term of three years and must take effect from 1 July 2022.
“This makes working for a handling company at Schiphol and other Dutch airports a lot more attractive,” says Van de Stolpe. He points to the shortage in the labor market. His employer Swiss-port currently has two hundred vacancies; The company employs eight hundred people in the Netherlands.
The collective labor agreement has been concluded by six independent handling companies: Aviapartner, Axxicom, dnata, Menzies Aviation, Swissport and Viggo. KLM’s baggage handlers are covered by the airline’s employment contract. Together, the six hope to have a stronger position vis-à-vis the airlines and the Schiphol Group. As far as FNV and WPBL are concerned, the airport company should set so-called ‘location requirements’ for newcomers who also want to become active at Schiphol.
According to both, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management could also do more to improve the working conditions of employees at the airports. At the end of last year, however, the then minister Barbara Visser (Infrastructure and Water Management, VVD) was reluctant. She believed that the companies themselves should first take steps. The sector collective labor agreement is a first step.