AMSTELVEEN- Today (September 16, 2023), KLM (KL) has presented its final proposal to the ground unions for a new collective agreement (CLA) covering ground personnel. The outcome represents significant progress for all ground employees.
FNV and CNV view the proposal as a negotiation result and will present it to their respective members. De Unie, NVLT, and VKP have indicated that they see KLM’s proposal as the final one.
KLM Ground Unions Proposal
These unions will inform KLM if they also consider it a negotiation result. KLM hopes that this will lead to an agreement with all five ground unions soon.
The final proposal includes a wage increase of €135 gross per month, effective from 1 September 2023, and a 6% wage increase from 1 October 2023.
There will also be a one-off payment of €500 in January 2024. In July 2024, there will be an additional increase of 3%, and in January 2025, depending on inflation trends, an increase of between 0% and 2%.
These wage increases will raise the minimum wage for KLM Ground Personnel to over €16 per hour during the term of the agreement, from 2 March 2023 to 28 February 2025.
KLM will also implement measures to prevent employee overloading and reintroduce the temporary part-time pre-retirement scheme, known as the “80-90-100 scheme.”
This will allow employees with physically demanding jobs to retire earlier. The bridging allowance will also facilitate transitioning to less physically demanding roles.
New Widebody Order
Air France (AF) KLM (KL) has initiated a formal process to replace some of its older widebody aircraft in an effort to acquire more fuel-efficient jets from Airbus or Boeing to cater to the growing demand for long-haul travel.
The airline group is in the market for 30 to 50 widebody jets, as reported by individuals with knowledge of the matter, reports Bloomberg.
In June, Bloomberg News had previously disclosed the company’s considerations for replacing its Airbus A330 aircraft, which have an average age of 20 years, and a group of Boeing 777s two decades old.
With long-haul travel rebounding and leading to extended waiting lists for newer, more fuel-efficient jets, airlines worldwide are actively acquiring widebody aircraft.
Air France-KLM has already retired its Boeing 747s and A380s, opting to introduce more modern 787 Dreamliners and Airbus A350 aircraft into its fleet.
Earlier in the month, Air France-KLM and Airbus unveiled their intentions to establish a maintenance joint venture specifically for the Airbus A350 aircraft. This move could potentially provide Airbus with some leverage in its negotiations with the Franco-Dutch airline.
As part of their assessment process, they are taking into account the current situation of needing to find alternative routes that bypass Russian airspace due to the Ukraine invasion.
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