Airport strike set to hit big getaway
Passengers warned to expect delays at airports across France, as Air France ground staff plan walkout on Saturday
ANYONE heading to the airport to catch an Air France flight on Saturday should brace for delays after ground staff unions called a strike in protest over deteriorating working conditions.
The walkout is expected to last from 1am until midnight on a key getaway day for holidaymakers.
Orly and Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airports in Paris will be particularly affected, while regional airports will also experience disruption, CGT-Air deputy secretary general Mehdi Kemoune told AFP.
Unions say they are concerned about modernisation plans, including the automating and outsourcing of certain services, contained in the so-called Transform 2015 programme.
Air France’s Transform 2015 was launched in 2012 with the aim of achieving €2bn in savings over three years. It has led to thousands of job losses in the company, unions have said.
Air France-KLM Group has also unveiled the outlines of a plan for “growth and competitiveness” for the next five years.
CGT-Air has not signed up to the Transform programme, but said “even unions that did sign up are now calling strikes”.
Another union, FO, which has called a strike among members working at Roissy, said in a statement that it was calling for “better working conditions and adequate staff levels”.
A rally will be held at 11am at Roissy, calling for local jobs to be safeguarded and demanding an end to the outsourcing of services.
They are also calling for an end to the Diard Law, which says that individual workers must declare their intention to join a strike 48 hours before the protest.
