Air France workers protest near the airline’s headquarters in Roissy, near Paris. Photo: EPA
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https://scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2134340/air-france-passengers-grounded-workers-strike-demanding-6-cent-pay Europe
Air France passengers grounded as workers strike, demanding 6 per cent pay rise
Air France employees demonstrate outside the French airline’s headquarters in Roissy, north of Paris. Employees of the flag carrier are calling for more pay. Photo: AP
Half of Air France’s long-haul flights out of Paris were cancelled on Thursday because of a strike over pay by pilots, cabin crew and ground staff.
The airline said it expected only 28 per cent of the staff to walk off the job, allowing it to maintain 75 per cent of its service but only 50 per cent of long-haul flights out of the French capital.
There were no reports of major disruptions at Charles de Gaulle or Orly airports on Thursday morning.
Ahead of the strike the carrier advised travellers to postpone their trips until February 27 at no extra cost.
“Air France regrets this situation and is making every effort to minimise the inconvenience this strike action may cause to its customers,” it said in a statement.
Salaries at Air France have been frozen since 2011.
Air France workers protest near the airline’s headquarters in Roissy, near Paris. Photo: EPA
After years of job cuts and other cost-cutting measures the staff are demanding a 6 per cent pay increase.
Management has said that such an increase would be “irresponsible” at a time when it is attempting to lower its costs to compete with low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet.
It is offering a basic increase of 1 per cent and a top-up for ground staff.
A dozen trade unions representing various categories of workers have dismissed the offer as “small change” and threatened more strikes.
The Air France-KLM group, Europe’s second-biggest airline which is 17.6 per cent owned by the French state, has been plagued by strikes and labour disputes in its French operations in recent years.
Two French company executives had their shirts torn off in 2015 by workers protesting its plans to cut nearly 3,000 jobs.
Air France Franck Terner and chief operating officer Alain-Herve address media as workers for the airline protest outside the company headquarters for more pay. Photo: Reuters
An Air France plane parked at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, north of Paris. Photo: AFP
In 2017, the airline’s fortunes improved dramatically, with operating profits soaring 42 per cent to 1.49 billion euros (US$1.84 billion), around one-third of which came from Air France.
Air France chief executive Franck Terner said on Wednesday that despite the improvement, the results still paled beside those of British Airways or Lufthansa and called for a “realistic balance” between rewarding staff for past sacrifices and setting aside money for ongoing investment.