Air France is facing a widespread strike on Feb. 22 after salary negotia­tions reignited long-running tensions with the unions representing its workforce.
The French airline has had a turbulent relationship with its unions for many years. In the latest development, unions representing all the categories of Air France staff have come together to call for a one-day strike, which could lead to disruption during the school vaca­tion period for some parts of France.
The unions want to strike to oppose the proposed 1% pay increase put forward by Air France management during annual salary negotiations, which was approved by some unions representing a minority of the carrier’s staff. The main Air France unions, including the Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL) pilots’ union and the Syndicat National du Personnel Navigant Commercial (SNPNC) cabin-crew union describe the offer as a “hand­out” which is “well below employees’ expectations.”
The unions argue that staff should get a 6% increase to reflect rising living costs and salaries, which they say have not been reflecting inflation for the past six years.
Air France-KLM, which in November 2016 launched the Trust Together strategic plan aimed at cutting costs and driving growth amid a highly competitive operating environment for European airlines, is due to report annual financial results on Feb. 16, with positive traffic and pricing trends expected to translate into strong numbers—another argument in favor of bigger salary increases for staff, the unions say.