The end of the year is often the scene of labor disputes, particularly in air transport. Indeed, the activity of Air France and easyJet, the two largest airlines in France, could well be disrupted by two strikes.
Within Air France, it was the Union of Air France Group Flight Crew (SNGAF) and the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Crew (UNAC) who lit the fuse. Two unions, which are, at least for a few more months, the first organizations of cabin crew (PNC) of the airline, have filed a strike notice which runs from December 22 to January 2, 2023. end of the year.
The two unions have not taken off since the Air France cabin crew collective agreement expired on October 31 without having been renewed. Since that date, the activity of Cabin Crew Members, that is to say their working conditions and remuneration, is simply governed by “one-sided note” written by management. Far too thin protection for UNAC. “The fear we have is that the management note will be modified without our approval”explains Anne Vildy-Sarocchi, Secretary General of UNAC.
The latter does not understand why management is refusing to renew the collective agreement when it would be “zero cost” for the company. She fears that management will try “to fall asleep” the Cabin Crew Members, who could say to themselves that finally “They don’t need a collective agreement” because their situation did not change with the unilateral note. UNAC claims to be very “determined to go to conflict if the company does not return to [eux] » to renew the collective agreement.
Law void
The mobilization undertaken by the UNAC and the SNGAF does not seem to the liking of the other cabin crew organisations, in particular the National Union of Commercial Flight Crew (SNPNC) and the National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (UNSA). With a certain malice, Christelle Auster, president of the SNPNC, recalls “that they ask for the maintenance of a collective agreement of which they were not yet signatories”. Above all, the trade unionist puts forward that Ben Smith and Anne Rigail, respectively, CEO of Air France-KLM and CEO of Air France, “have made a written commitment not to touch the unilateral note before a new collective agreement is concluded”.
The unions do not want the management to take advantage of this legal vacuum to, in particular, impose its project which plans to increase the number of passengers per Cabin Crew Member on a plane. Currently set at 48 passengers per hostess or steward on long-haul flights, Air France wanted to raise this threshold to 51 passengers. A proposal for now “postponed”, recognizes UNAC.
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