KLM ground staff are threatening to go on strike if the airline does not comply with the ultimatum set by the FNV union. This was presented to the company’s management on Thursday. Trade unions and KLM cannot agree on agreements for a new collective labor agreement for approximately 15,000 ground employees.
FNV is demanding, among other things, a wage increase of 14.3 percent to compensate for the increased inflation. The union also wants wages to move with inflation, the so-called automatic price compensation. Furthermore, FNV demands that something be done about the high workload as a result of understaffing. If KLM management does not comply with the ultimatum, which expires on September 14, the ground staff can stop all work a week later, according to FNV.
This week, KLM made an improved wage offer of 9 percent over a period of two years, supplemented with a possible inflation correction of up to 2 percent. But that offer was immediately rejected by the unions. “It may be better, but all in all, employees are still becoming poorer when they work,” argues FNV director David van de Geer.
Safe and healthy work
In addition, pay is important, but according to him it is not the ultimate solution. FNV also wants the right to safe and healthy work to be included in the collective labor agreement. The association believes this is especially important in freight and baggage handling. To this end, the occupancy and load standards must, among other things, be laid down in the collective labor agreement. “Keep track of how many people lift and how long they can recover. And determine the minimum number of people needed to clear an aircraft,” Van de Geer advocates.
FNV is not the only union that is threatening action. CNV members have also previously given their unanimous approval for this. But that association has not yet submitted an ultimatum, although CNV has stated that it wants to do so.