Trade union FNV and Schiphol agree “for now” that airport employees will receive a bonus this summer. That is what FNV campaign leader Joost van Doesburg tells news hour.
The trade unions are negotiating with Schiphol about the shortage of staff at the airport and the high workload. If there is no agreement on better conditions by next Wednesday, employees will go on strike, says Van Doesburg. The summer bonus is not enough for the FNV. “Wages have to go up and the workload has to go down. A living wage starts at 14 euros per hour, that’s where it should go.”
A spokesperson for Schiphol says to news hour not to say anything about the negotiations until they are concluded.
–
Due to staff shortages, major problems have recently arisen at Schiphol: long queues, canceled flights and aggression among travelers. “The past few weeks were certainly not a poster to come and work here,” says Van Doesburg.
Schiphol board chairman Dick Benschop acknowledged on Sunday that the situation “hurt” him. He promised that there will be no more “long queues” in the summer, including by fewer flights to perform† He admitted that in recent years there has been too much focus on cost savings. In recent years, Schiphol’s approach has been mainly “growth for the sake of growth”, he said. That approach would have been “leaving the airport for a while.”
“I have to praise Mr Benschop”, says Van Doesburg. “He is very honest. Ultimately, it is the employees, the security guards, the cleaners, the handling staff, who have had to pay the bill. That has to change if we come to an agreement.”
The FNV leader says that politicians are also responsible for the situation at the airport, which is 92 percent in the hands of the national government and municipalities. “The House of Representatives is also the boss of Benschop. We have been warning for many years that things are going badly for Schiphol workers, that there is a threat of personnel shortage. The House has not acted on that.”
–
