Trade unions FNV and CNV have reached a collective bargaining agreement with KLM , the flag bearer, for the airline's ground staff. It is now up to union members to approve it. If they do so, the previously threatened strikes will be off the table, according to CNV negotiator Souleiman Amallah. FNV executive David van de Geer called it a "wonderful proposal."
KLM Press Release Read,
Today, KLM presented a final proposal to the ground unions for a new collective agreement (CLA) for ground personnel. The outcome represents substantial progress for all ground colleagues.
FNV and CNV consider the proposal a negotiation result and will be presenting it to their respective membership bases. De Unie, NVLT and VKP have indicated that they consider KLM’s proposal as its final proposal.
This means these unions will inform KLM if they consider it a negotiation result. KLM hopes that this will soon lead to an agreement with all five ground unions.
KLM has about 15,000 ground employees. These include employees who load and unload baggage, tow planes or talk to passengers in departure lounges. Under the agreements reached, their salaries will increase by 135 euros from September, in proportion to their employment.
One of the main issues in the collective labor agreement negotiations was compensation for rapidly rising inflation.
The final proposal includes a wage increase effective 1 September 2023 of an amount of €135 gross per month and, effective 1 October 2023, a wage increase of 6%. There will also be a one-off payment of €500 in January 2024.
In July 2024, a further increase of 3% will follow and in January 2025, depending on inflation trends, an increase of between 0% and 2%. Bolstered by these wage increases, the minimum wage for KLM Ground Personnel will increase to a level of above €16 an hour during the agreement’s term from 2 March 2023 through 28 February 2025.
KLM will also take further measures to prevent employees from becoming overloaded and will be reintroducing the temporary part-time pre-retirement scheme (also known as the “80-90-100 scheme”). This will enable those employees carrying out the most physically taxing work to retire earlier. The bridging allowance will also make it easier to switch to less physically demanding work.
Earlier, FNV and CNV threatened to take action among ground staff as collective bargaining had reached an impasse. The unions gave KLM an ultimatum, but shortly before the deadline, both unions decided to resume talks.
