Swissport staff heads to the barricade: “A warning strike could be considered at Christmas”

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There is intense activity at Zurich Airport on holidays. But there is a risk of luggage chaos this year. Employees of ground handling providers Swissport and Goldair-AAS are openly threatening strikes.

What happened? The VPOD union reported that wage negotiations with Swissport and Goldair-AAS failed. Swissport was only prepared to compensate for 80 percent of inflation. According to VPOD, it’s “a slap in the face to workers” given their already low wages.

At Goldair-AAS, there has been another round of zero after years without a pay increase or a 13th monthly pay increase. However, as trade unionist Stefan Brülisauer (35) told Blick, the company “muted” on VPOD’s demands for a 5 percent wage increase and a 13th month salary.

Cantonal arbitration has been initiated between VPOD Luftverkehr and Goldair-AAS. Goldair-AAS is a joint venture established in 2019 between Swiss ground handling company AAS and Greece’s Goldair Handling.

Here’s the thing for employees, according to VPOD: “If we only get 80 percent of inflation compensation, the company gets only 80 percent of our performance.” According to Brülisauer, no final decision has yet been made on what a possible strike would look like: “However, a warning strike at Christmas could be considered.”

How realistic is the strike?

So are employees allowed to strike? According to the law, no one with a valid collective bargaining agreement is allowed to strike.

“If it is a last resort, a strike may be allowed,” says Brülisauer. VPOD tried everything to find an amicable solution. Discussions and petitions yielded no results. “We are still working with arbitration and Zurich Airport,” Brülisauer said.

From 2025, Goldair-AAS will take over the PRM business (i.e. airport services for people with limited mobility) from Goldair-AAS, including its 120 employees. They hope they will get better wages at least from 2025. “We get the feeling that Goldair-AAS wants to make as much profit as possible in 2024 at the expense of employees,” criticizes Brülisauer.

Swissport has not yet responded to Blick’s question about strike threats. When asked, airport spokeswoman Bettina Kunz said she had no information about any specific attack plans at this time. As an airport operator, you are concerned with ensuring flight operations go as smoothly as possible.

Christmas holiday chaos can be devastating

The airport itself cannot be blamed in this dispute. But if a strike actually occurs, there is a risk of chaos in the luggage area, and this is not the first time this has happened. The airport’s image will be damaged.

“There is still a staff shortage at the airport and operations can only be maintained thanks to the extraordinary dedication of the employees,” Brülisauer laments. Luggage started to pile up again in Zurich. “Flying chaos is inevitable if employees decide before a holiday that they no longer want to go the extra distance they did before.”

Source :Blick