KLM, the union reached an agreement on the payment of ground staff
Dutch airline KLM, which has been forced to cancel thousands of flights due to labor shortages, has reached an agreement with ground staff unions that will see workers get a pay rise.
U press releaseKLM said that while reaching an agreement was a “difficult task”, it was pleased that the outcome of the talks would bring “stability and improved prospects for all our ground staff”.
Agreements include KLM offering its ground staff a 2% pay rise from 1 October 2022 and another 2% from 1 March 2023. Both increases are set at a minimum of €80 ($80) “to ensure that the financial situation of those on lower revenues are increasing,” the airline said. The proposal will now be sent to union members for approval.
KLM said that rising inflation, reduced purchasing power, high work pressure and a tightening labor market were factors that contributed to the decision to raise wages.
In recent weeks, KLM had to increase the reduction of flights for the summer schedule due to staff shortages at Schiphol Airport.
An unprecedented wave of travel demand since the pandemic has caused a wave of operational problems for many airlines in the industry, which have been exacerbated by staff shortages.
“These agreements will restore stability to our organization and offer better prospects for (future) employees,” the airline said.
However, the Dutch airline, which is part of the Air France-KLM group, warned that while it had managed to repay government loans and its finances had improved, the recovery was still fragile. KLM said it therefore had to continue its cost-cutting efforts to secure access to financing and may need to resume talks with unions.
“If circumstances change in the near future, leading to KLM falling back into crisis, we will return to the negotiating table with the unions,” the airline warned.
https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/31597-klm-dutch-airline-reach-agreement-union-ground-staff KLM, the union reached an agreement on the payment of ground staff
