A Strike has been called by the French airline pilots union for February 6 to 9 against a government bill that is said to restrain the right to strike.
Under the terms of the bill, workers in the air transport industry should make individual declarations of participating in a strike 48 hours before its commencement, so as to let airlines put contingency plans in place.
This rule is already applied to state-owned groups such as the SNCF railway and the Paris Metro operator RATP, reported London’s International Freighting Weekly.
The unions consider the bill “ill-adapted to the private sector” and are urging the authorities to withdraw it.
Vice-president Philippe Vivier of the SNPL ALPA, which represents a large number of Air France pilots with membership extending to 30 air carriers, told IFW 73 per cent of his members had said they were prepared for a long strike.
If the proposed four-day strike is carried out as planned, there will be great disruption to Air France flight schedules in that period, warned Mr Vivier. He said a meeting with staff unions from other areas of the air sector will be held later to decide whether it is necessary to call for another four-day strike in February.
Said one union official: “Every category of worker employed in air transport is concerned by this bill – pilots, ground staff, security personnel, cargo handlers – and the call has gone out to them to join the strike.”
Said an Air France spokesman: “Clearly, if there is strong support from the pilots our flight schedules risk serious disruption.”
Strained relations between Air France and its unions are intensifying as a management review of all collective labour agreements, with a view to abandoning them, approaches in the next few days.
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