Court upholds strike ban for KLM ground crew

KLM ground crew will not be allowed to strike at Schiphol airport until September 5th, the Amsterdam court ruled on Friday in the appeal filed by union FNV. The court therefore upholds the strike ban implemented by the Haarlem court two weeks ago, ANP reports. The Amsterdam court ruled that the interests of KLM outweigh those of the union in this case. According to the court, the planned strikes could "very seriously disrupt" air traffic at Schiphol during the summer vacation rush. The likely consequences of a strike for KLM, Schiphol and thousands of travelers are so large that it is unacceptable. The Haarlem court's previous ruling is therefore upheld. FNV and KLM have been at odds over the ground staff for some time. The union wants a wage increase of 1 percent with a minimum of 75 euros a month, no fewer vacation or senior days and more permanent contracts for temporary workers. KLM points out that all the other unions and vast majority of the unhappy ground crew's colleagues already accepted a "fantastic proposal".