2023-12-29 11:35:18
The reform of the framework for the right to strike of air traffic controllers in France is now enshrined in law, with its promulgation on Friday December 29 in the Official Journal, at the end of a turbulent year in this sector.
This modification of the general civil service code, the result of a law initiated by centrist senator Vincent Capo-Canellas and supported by the government, was judged to be compliant on December 21 by the Constitutional Council after having been adopted on November 15 by Parliament.
It imposes on any air agent carrying out functions “the absence of which is likely to directly affect the completion of flights” to individually declare their participation in a strike action no later than noon two days before.
Until then, air traffic control unions had to submit any strike notice five days before a strike, ensuring a « service minimum »but the strikers did not have to declare their individual participation, unlike other employees in the sector.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) therefore did not have reliable estimates on the number of strikers and could have to ask airlines to cancel more flights than necessary in order to bring the number of controllers into line. available and the flight operations program.
Strike right
This law “marks essential progress for airlines and air travelers, while respecting the right to strike guaranteed by the Constitution”the Minister for Transport, Clément Beaune, rejoiced last week.
The latter mentioned on February 15 a change in the supervision of strikes by air traffic controllers after a surprise strike «irresponsible» having taken hundreds of passengers by surprise four days earlier at Paris-Orly, in full mobilization against pension reform. This social movement had seriously disrupted air traffic in the first quarter, in France and indirectly throughout Europe.
On December 22, airlines from the Old Continent described this reform as “Important first step in reducing disruption to passengers”.
This year, “the majority of strike days (by air traffic controllers) recorded in the EU took place in France, i.e. 67 in total. More than 4,000 flights have been cancelled, 24,000 delayed and more than 11 million passengers traveling to or from France, as well as those flying over the country. have been affected, according to the main association of European air carriers, Airlines for Europe (A4E).
The association, which brings together Ryanair, Lufthansa, IAG (British Airways, Iberia, etc.) and Air France-KLM, demanded “an additional effort” in particular to protect overflights of French territory.
The first representative union of air traffic controllers, the SNCTA, supported the text, believing that “the exploitation of the right to strike and its unreasonable or irreconcilable use by several other union organizations have led, year after year, to a deterioration of the image of the profession”.
For its part, the USAC-CGT, the third representative organization among air traffic controllers and critic of “unprecedented positioning” according to her from the SNCTA, qualified the reform “unprecedented attack” against the right to strike and judged that it would be “inapplicable and ineffective”.
#promulgation #reform #strike #sector