Dispute at Swiss – collective labor agreement rejected: is there a threat of a pilots’ strike at Zurich Airport?
Collective labor agreement rejected: is there a threat of a pilot strike at Zurich Airport?
The contract negotiated by its own board was rejected by over 80 percent of Swiss pilots. They are now hinting at a possible strike.
In a ballot, four fifths of the pilots of Airline Swiss rejected the newly presented collective employment agreement (GAV) 2022. Your Aeropers union is demanding quick improvements from management. This could ensure the stability of flight operations over the summer and autumn, Aeropers announced on Sunday.
It is unclear whether there will be a strike. Aeropers was ready to negotiate, but threateningly headlined its own press release: “CLA clearly rejected – how long will the SWISS pilots continue to fly without an ongoing collective labor agreement?” Managing Director Henning M. Hoffmann speaks of a “big dilemma”, one does not want to damage one’s own company and the passengers, but must “apparently show the management even more clearly that the pilots are dissatisfied”.
The Swiss cockpit staff has been without a CLA since April. According to the union, the Swiss management prevented the seamless continuation of the CLA after April 1 by linking a declaration of intent in February. Nevertheless, Aeropers has returned to the negotiating table. The pilots continued to fly reliably.
Swiss had terminated the GAV on the grounds of crisis resilience. As Aeropers writes, the airline successfully got through the crisis with this contract. In addition, the union and management found numerous solutions together in the Covid 19 pandemic.
No crisis management
According to the union, the CLA, which was rejected by 80.5 percent of Aeropers members, would have reduced the profit sharing of cockpit staff in good years and enabled even faster growth at the expense of the staff. That has very little to do with coping. Management has ignored the rapid improvement of recent months.
The GAV 2022 would have permanently worsened working conditions. Because pilots can only change employers at a loss, they are heavily dependent on them, the union claims. The Swiss wanted to take advantage of that. Aeropers will now conduct a survey among members.
Schweizer examines next steps
The Swiss said in a statement that they regretted the refusal after several months of intensive negotiations. The airline does not expect the no to affect flight operations. According to you, the GAV 2022 is a compromise that takes the interests of the airline and the cockpit staff into account in a balanced manner.
The new GAV would have offered stability in the “very volatile airline environment” for four years. As a consequence of the no, Swiss is continuing the non-contractual situation with its pilots.
The airline is dependent on reliable partners, she continues. It is a novelty that the Board of Directors of the Pilots’ Association did not recommend acceptance of the jointly developed and signed GAV by its members. The airline will take a closer look at future cooperation with the “current Aeropers board”. The door for a CLA remains open.
SDA/req
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