Transavia stops controversial peak/off-peak labor contracts after criticism

Dutch budget airline Transavia will stop offering controversial worker contracts that garnered significant criticism, including from the current Cabinet. About 150 employees of the KLM subsidiary were signed to peak/off-peak labor contracts where they were hired for essentially the full calendar year, except for six weeks in the winter when they were not needed.

The workers were then forced to claim unemployment benefits during that period. The controversial contract construction came into the spotlight this year as part of an investigative report published by Follow the Money. The end to the practice was confirmed by Dutch cabin crew labor union VNC, after initial reporting by the Financieele Dagblad.

Minister of Social Affairs Eddy van Hijum (NSC) said he was not pleased with the way in which Transavia was pushing the boundaries of the law. “Having peaks and troughs in work is, in principle, an entrepreneurial risk,” he said in March.

“By structuring the employment contract in this way, this entrepreneurial risk is completely shifted to society. I find this undesirable, because this is a way for employers to evade their responsibility.”

The VNC sees the situation differently. They think the peak/off-peak contracts were an improvement compared to the way some workers were hired as seasonal employees in years past.

VNC chair Chris van Elswijk emphasized that it is a legal construction, which is very much in line with the seasonality of Transavia’s flight schedule. The airline always flies somewhat less in the winter than in the summer, he said.

The union struck a deal with Transavia to offer a permanent position to all 150 people with a peak/off-peak contract. This is also an improvement, Van Elswijk said. “As a union, we are always in favor of certainty.”

A transitional arrangement will be introduced for those workers who want to keep the six-week period as time off. According to Van Elswijk, some employees quite liked having the significant break from flying.

Transavia is part of the Air France KLM Group, of which the Dutch State owns a 9.13 percent stake. KLM was the largest airline at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam in 2024, followed by EasyJet and Transavia.