From now on, six baggage handling companies at Schiphol will be fined monthly for allowing their staff to do too much work. The fines vary in height, but can reach up to 65,000 euros per month. The Labor Inspectorate will cancel the monthly fine as soon as sufficient machines are available to make the work easier for all staff.
The fines (an order subject to periodic penalty payments) come as no surprise, because the companies were already warned in March, but were unable to make the work easier for their staff. In June, the Labor Inspectorate issued companies an ultimatum: if they did not take drastic measures within two weeks, the rain of penance would become final. That happened today.
Schiphol hoped to turn the tide. August saw the arrival of 30 lifting aids announced. At the beginning of last month, the airport announced that it had decided after a two-week trial period ‘accelerated’ to buy 19 baggage robots.
These Danish-made robots were specially developed for Schiphol and will be taken into use around this time. The robots are intended to be used in the South baggage hall, where staff from KLM, Aviapartner and Viggo process the luggage of departing travelers with destinations within Europe.
Not available everywhere yet
The Labor Inspectorate also sees that working conditions are improving, but also notes that lifting aids and lifting robots are still far from being available at every workplace. Schiphol is currently testing new lifting aids and robots, and expects to have enough available for all staff by April next year.
“With this, Schiphol, together with the handling companies, is taking steps to reduce the physical strain on baggage employees, as is also demanded by the Labor Inspectorate”, the airport recently wrote in a press release. The Labor Inspectorate does not want to wait for that, and is now increasing the pressure considerably with the fines.
Three instead of six handlers
Recently, (now outgoing) Minister Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management argued for three instead of six baggage handling companies at Schiphol. Because there are so many, airlines have a lot of choice and the handlers have to compete on price. That would be at the expense of working conditions.
Like the cabinet, Schiphol is also calling for fewer handling companies at the airport, so that working conditions for staff can improve. There’s already one license to operate implemented. It contains safety requirements and working agreements that handling companies must adhere to at Schiphol.
The fines that the six companies must pay together add up to around 200,000 per month. This autumn, the Labor Inspectorate will regularly check whether and, if so, to what extent working conditions have improved.
High-tech luggage cellar
Ultimately, all baggage handling must be automated or mechanized. Schiphol is busy building a new high-tech baggage basement, director Ruud Sondag said two weeks ago during the presentation of the half-year figures, but it’s not finished yet.