Strike to affect 1-in-10 flight at Amsterdam-Schiphol

[Pieter C. 5]

Strike To Affect 1-in-10 Schiphol Flights

 

May 8, 2008

One in 10 flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will be affected on Friday when workers at a ground handling company plan to go on strike, the airport said on Wednesday.

 

Workers at Menzies Aviation, one of four handling companies, will start the indefinite strike to back their demands for a higher wage increase, a spokesman at De Unie trade union said. "Menzies is offering a 1.5 percent structural wage increase. We want 3.5 percent because of high inflation," he said.

 

About 200 workers out of Menzies' workforce of 550 will down tools on Friday, he said.

 

"About 10 percent of flights will be affected; the actual number will depend on how the strike is organized," a Schiphol spokeswoman said.

 

Schiphol, Europe's fourth-busiest passenger airport, carried 47.8 million travellers last year. KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France KLM, is the biggest handler at Schiphol.

 

The union launched what it called a passenger-friendly gesture last week by handing out toothbrushes to passengers at Schiphol.

 

"It was to tell passengers that they may never know if their suitcase will arrive and thus to have a toothbrush at hand," the spokesman said.

 

(Reuters)

 

Airlines affected are:

Air Astana (KC); Alitalia (AZ); Arkefly (TFL); Corendon (CAI); Cathay Pacific (CX); Delta Air Lines (DL); El Al (LY); EVA Airways (BR); Freebird (FHY); Inter Express (INX); Japan Airlines (JL); Onur (OHY); Royal Air Maroc (AT); Singapore Airlines (SQ); Surinam Airways (SLM); VLM (VG).

 

MH is handled by KL, so no effects here

 

[Pieter C. 5]

A new Collective-Labour-Agreement as signed today by the management of Menzies and the labour-unions, so strike is off and all back to normal, as per 1400 hrs