KLM ground crew strike on hold as contract talks progress

Trade union CNV has put plans for a strike by KLM ground crew workers on hold after the Dutch airline promised to make a better offer in the collective bargaining agreement. The offer had “enough starting points” for the union to return to the negotiating table and suspend labor actions for the time being, CNV said on Thursday.

“The willingness to take action has never been greater among our members,” CNV said. “We want to keep pressure on KLM until it puts words into action.”

The contract talks between KLM and the trade unions for its ground crew stalled over the wage increase, a better work-life balance, and an early retirement scheme. “The lack of concrete proposals from KLM on these points caused a long standstill during the negotiation process. Ultimately, it led to the resulting impasse,” CNV said. The union gave KLM until Thursday to improve its offer, or strikes and other labor actions would follow.

KLM’s new offer has “enough starting points to come back to the table tomorrow,” the trade union said.

KLM previously proposed a 9 percent wage increase over two years, with the possibility of a correction for inflation of up to 2 percent by January 1, 2025. The unions wanted a wage increase of 14.3 percent to compensate for inflation over 2023 and automatic price compensation for 2024.