Be careful if you have to fly with Air France during the holidays. It is not only at the SNCF that disruptions are to be feared this weekend. The unions of hostesses and stewards SNGAF and UNAC, in the majority between them, filed a strike notice from Thursday December 22 until January 2.
The extent of the disturbances will be known on Tuesday. As in the rail sector, personnel employed in the air sector who participate directly in the performance of a flight must declare themselves to be on strike 48 hours before the start of the movement.
At the origin of the conflict, the collective agreement of the hostesses and stewards, which organizes the conditions of career, remuneration, social security as well as the rules for the use of personnel. On October 31, this collective agreement expired. According to the company, while the unions wanted the application of a temporary agreement, Air France passed a management note which extends the current one until an agreement is reached.
Negotiations that struggle to succeed
A technical point that poses a problem for the unions. “A management note of indefinite duration can be modified at any time and especially unilaterally, denounces Anne Vildy-Sarocchi, secretary general of Unac. It is much less protective for the staff”. In an attempt to find a compromise, the unions proposed that the direction memorandum should have a start date and an end date. “But she refused”, regrets the union official.
Still, the negotiations started last year on the collective agreement are struggling to succeed. Among the points of disagreement, according to the management, the number of hostesses and steward embarked on certain long-haul flights. On certain aircraft models, management wishes to increase productivity and have nine cabin crew (PNC) instead of ten. “We are not yet at this detail of discussion, sweeps Anne Vildy-Sarocchi. Today, what poses a problem for us is this management note. For the rest, discussions are ongoing. They take time. This collective agreement is 400 pages”.