Genève Aéroport Employees Strike: Controversial New Wage Policy Sparks Protests and Potential Airport Paralysis

2023-06-29 10:31:09

Genève Aéroport employees will be on strike Friday morning from 4:00 a.m., the Public Services Union (SSP) said on Thursday. According to the union, the controversial new wage policy was approved by Genève Aéroport’s board of directors on Thursday.

Nearly 250 employees and trade unionists gathered Thursday morning in front of Geneva airport to demonstrate once morest the new salary policy wanted by management. A decision from the Board of Directors was expected on this project at the end of the morning.

Reluctant strike

According to the SSP union, a thousand employees are affected by this project. For its part, the management defends a new salary model without automatic progression, adapted to the evolution of turnover. She assures that there will be no drop in salary.

“Employees risk losing almost an annual salary, which is part of the bonuses,” replies Jamshid Pouranpir, union secretary at the SSP. “Salary scales and annuities will be greatly modified and today, no Genève Aéroport employee is able, from the document provided, to know what their salary will be in the new system”, he explains. in the 12:30 of the RTS.

According to Pierre Bernheim, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the transformation of the airline sector requires this reform. “First there are climate changes, changes in travel consumption habits,” he explains.

“There is also the need to protect our residents, who suffer from noise. So we will have to measure traffic, better fill the planes. So we arrive with all this with a growth of regarding 1%. It is more stagnation,” he continued.

>> Read once more: Geneva airport no longer bets on unbridled growth

If the employees are determined to go on strike, they still feel a pang in their hearts. “It’s very sad, we’re really doing it backwards,” said an administrative employee at the airport. According to her, the employees are “completely dedicated to their job” and disengage “really reluctantly”. “It is unfortunately the only way to be heard by our Board of Directors,” she continues.

>> Listen to the details of Mohamed Musadak in 12:30 p.m.: Geneva airport employees will strike to protest once morest the new wage policy / Le 12:30 p.m. / 2 min. / today at 12:33

Airport paralyzed

If the strike is followed, airport employees occupying positions such as security or logistics might block all flights and paralyze the airport. The only minimum service that is required concerns only ambulance and firefighters. The employees will meet at 10:00 a.m. to find out if the strike will be renewed.

This strike, which comes on the first day of the holidays, is regrettable, according to Genève Aéroport, which expects around 50,000 passengers on Friday, one of the biggest peaks of the year.

The airport will do everything to limit the impact, but in due course, “the management of Genève Aéroport will decide on a temporary cessation of operations in order to guarantee a high level of security for all operators of the platform”.

People who have planned to travel on Friday are asked to inquire on the airport application.

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