All but one unions call off Air France strike notice
All but one workers’ union at Air France has lifted their notice to strike from June 23 to 26, pending the arrival of the company’s new CEO in July.
Only the second pilots’ union, the SPAF, is maintaining the strike notice for now.
In a statement, the pilot organisations (SNPL, Alter), ground staff (CGT, FO and SUD), and air stewards ((SNPNC, Unsa-PNC, CFTC, SNGAF) said: “It will be more effective to wait for the appropriate contact, and as a result, we have decided to suspend our strike notice”.
Former CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac stepped down in May, in the midst of ongoing disputes over pay between Air France management and the unions.
Multiple strikes over the issue have been called since April, and are estimated to have cost Air France well over €300 million.
The unions have consistently demanded a pay rise of 5-6%, which, they say, accounts for missed payments and inflation across several years. Yet, Air France has only offered 1-3%, saying it cannot match the unions’ demands.
Mr Janaillac said that he would be forced to go, if unions rejected his final offer. They did, and he left.
Now, intermediary president Anne-Marie Couderc has sought to reassure the unions that a replacement CEO will be named by mid-July at the latest, as the conflict rumbles on.
Indeed, the SPAF union has maintained its strike notice, and did not co-sign the others’ statement.
In its own statement, the SPAF said: “The threat of a strike has led to negotiations in recent weeks. [There is] a way out of this crisis, with a management that is up to the task.”
