Hop! pilots confirm strikes over long July 14 weekend
Pilots for the low-cost Air France airline Hop! have confirmed that they will strike over the long July 14 weekend, after talks with the unions broke down.
Not only will the weekend include the Bastille Day Fête Nationale, it is also a big getaway weekend for families beginning long summer holidays.
The pilots’ syndicates SNPL and Flight Union Cockpit had first given notice of plans to strike several weeks’ ago, and despite Air France’s attempts to keep a full service over the holiday period, it has now been confirmed that the strike will go ahead from July 13 to 18.
Pressure is now mounting on Air France thanks to the dates of the strike, which was previously set for July 3 to 8, but has been deliberately moved over the strategic holiday period.
The dispute centres on pilot contracts, which require renegotiations ahead of their collective expiry date on July 3.
However, the pilot trade unions say that Air France is negotiating them within the context of reducing costs, and has refused to wait until talks between the groups have finished to draw up new agreements, which - the unions say - is what forced them to go ahead and strike.
The unions say that Air France’s actions have demonstrated “contempt for social dialogue” and a willingness to go against the views of the trade unions.
