Court bans KLM-staff strikes till Sept. 4th

On Thursday the court in Haarlem ruled that the ground crew at KLM are not allowed to strike until September 4th, citing holiday crowds and terrorist threats as reason. Union FNV will appeal, NU.nl reports. According to the judge, a strike along with the "explosive combination" of holiday traffic and terrorist threats at Schiphol Airport can not be allowed. Public safety outweighs the right to strike, the court ruled. KLM filed the lawsuit against FNV to stop announced ground staff actions. Last week the court in Haarlem stopped the strike, saying the judge needs more time to consider. A spokesperson for FNV told NU.nl that they will appeal, calling the court's decision "incomprehensible". "Safety is also our top priority. The consequences must be weight per strike and not be banned in advance for the coming month." KLM is satisfied with the ruling, a spokesperson said to NU.nl. "We feel supported. But perhaps even more importantly: the 99 percent of or colleagues that want to continue work as normal, are also supported. We're very happy", the spokesperson said. According to him, there is already a "fantastic proposal" for a collective bargaining agreement for the ground crew. "It seems a good pan if FNV uses the time until 5 September to submit the proposal to its members, so we can talk."