ANP
News from the NOS•today, 15:38•Modified today, 16:34
To attract and retain more security personnel, Schiphol Airport will pay an extra 2.50 euros per hour. This was reported by the airport after talks with security companies and trade unions.
This wage increase comes on top of the so-called Schiphol surcharge of € 1.40 per hour, introduced when the summer bonus of 5.25 euros per hour. In total, therefore, employees will receive a lower allowance than last summer. But security officers are paid 35 percent more at night, so a single employee who often works at night can level up.
However, according to the FNV union, it is important that this salary increase is paid out for a significantly longer period than the summer bonus. The wage increase and the night supplement will remain in effect until December 2024. The Schiphol surcharge will expire in October 2023.
The measures apply to all security officers at Schiphol and Rotterdam The Hague Airport and will take effect in November.
Does this solve the problems?
Schiphol hopes in this way to attract more security personnel and prevent the departure of current employees, so that the crowds at the airport will decrease. The airport already indicated last week that it feels compelled to wait until the end of March 2023 fewer passengers to let go.
In addition to the new allowances, the working conditions will also be worked out. For example, rest areas for security guards are being refurbished: according to CNV they were often “shabby” with “broken stuff”. There will also be a little more security on the security guard lists. For example, services will be able to start ten times a day, less than they currently do.
According to the union FNV, it remains to be seen whether this agreement will solve Schiphol’s problems in the short term. “The big problem is that the workload is too high, but it takes months to hire and train people,” says FNV director Joost van Doesburg. Furthermore, not only is there a shortage of personnel in security, the union says, but according to Schiphol, there is nothing extra for those other groups.
Schiphol is also not sure if this will fix everything, but calls the necessary steps. “We weren’t able to attract enough security guards, more had to be done,” says Hanne Buis, Schiphol’s chief operating officer. “Otherwise we would have had the same problems next May”.
Security guards don’t show up
Schiphol’s capacity problems have continued since the May holidays. The large crowd has subsided in recent months as the airport paid a summer bonus to employees.
Schiphol employees therefore reacted cautiously to the increase in wages:
Schiphol staff gets a pay raise: “It’s cool, but will that fix it?”
It happened again in the last few weeks. In September, flights had to be canceled on days when security guards he didn’t show up.
The FNV union found it surprising that the problems recurred when the bonus scheme expired. “Now that that allowance is gone, they’re leaving again.” At the time, Schiphol’s chief operating officer Hanne Buis thought it was too early for that conclusion.
