Schiphol director Dick Benschop wants Minister Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management to intervene to limit the large number of handling companies at the airport. Benschop now realizes that those companies, which are responsible for loading and unloading luggage and freight, among other things, are too busy competing with each other and that this is at the expense of the health of the staff.
Today it was announced that employees of handling companies at Schiphol been doing too much work for years. The Labor Inspectorate already demanded in 2009 that health and safety standards at Schiphol should no longer be exceeded. Nevertheless, some of the baggage and cargo staff suffer from physical complaints due to heavy lifting and lugging of suitcases and cargo.
Eight handling companies are active at Schiphol. Schiphol and the airlines benefit from this, because those companies all try to be the cheapest. Airlines conclude contracts with handling companies for, among other things, baggage personnel, employees at the check-in desks and tow truck drivers.
The tide seems to be turning
Cheap rates for the airlines mean a low salary for the staff and sometimes lousy working conditions, resulting in health problems. The tide now seems to be turning at Schiphol and director Dick Benschop wants to see an end to the admission of new companies. The last time a handling company was added at Schiphol was in 2020, when Viggo became Transavia’s regular handling agent.
Benschop has called on Minister Mark Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management to put a stop to new handling companies, something that according to his predecessor Cora van Nieuwenhuizen was not possible due to free market forces and rules from Brussels (article continues below the video):
According to Joost van Doesburg, Schiphol campaign manager at the FNV trade union, a maximum of three handling companies should be active at the airport. With fewer such companies at Schiphol, fierce competition will be limited and working conditions for the staff will improve. Minister Mark Harbers of Infrastructure has not yet responded to Benschop’s letter.
Damage claim
Van Doesburg has also opened a hotline for Schiphol staff who experience health problems due to the high workload and heavy physical work. The FNV trade union wants to investigate whether a claim can be filed with all those complaints.