KLM files preliminary injunction to prevent Schiphol ground crew strike
KLM is filing for a preliminary injunction to prevent a strike by ground staff unions FNV and CNV at Schiphol scheduled for this Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The airline said the strike would be unacceptable during the peak of the summer holiday period, citing operational and safety risks. In addition, the FNV and CNV did not reach safety agreements with KLM about these strikes, the airline has said.
Furthermore, KLM has made a concrete salary offer to all the trade unions, including the FNV and CNV, as the unions had requested. The unions involved in the collective labor agreement for ground staff were also given an improved substantive offer. Despite this, both unions say they are not willing to continue talks and will proceed with their strike, according to a statement.
The unions announced the strike on Wednesday. This comes a week after a judge bloccked plans to have ground staff strike for 24 hours on Saturday. The court cited the safety risks involved in such an action as the reason for the ban.
KLM presented a concrete salary offer on Wednesday, in the hope of offering enough common ground to reach an agreement during negotiations for a new collective labor agreement.
The offer includes a one-time payment of 1,000 euros this year. This would be followed by a structural salary increase of 2.5 percent, depending on the company’s profits. This would be applied from July 1 this year.
KLM refused to offer a salary increase initially, to the anger of the unions. In addition to a higher salary, the unions also have other demands, for example, a permanent scheme for people who do physically taxing jobs to be able to retire at an earlier age.
The preliminary injunction hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the court in Amsterdam, according to a KLM spokesperson.
FNV negotiator John van Dorland said that the preliminary injunction is no surprise and that KLM's actions have caused a lot of anger within the unions and especially amongst the ground staff. Souleiman Amallah, a negotiatior for CNV, also said that he is not surprised and that he looks forward to the case with confidence.
