Swiss axes another labour agreement

Cabin crew face a tough ride Keystone

Swiss, the national airline, has told around 3,200 cabin-crew staff that it will scrap their collective labour contract at the end of next year.

The announcement comes three months after the carrier delivered the same message to 2,000 ground staff.

Swiss said it would enter into negotiations on new collective labour agreements at the beginning of 2005.

In a short press release, the airline said it would “strive, together with its social partners, to find viable forward-looking solutions which secure as many jobs as possible in the longer term”.

The unions criticised the latest development, saying it would plunge staff into a period of uncertainty.

“Serving notice on the collective contract unsettles cabin-crew staff unnecessarily,” said Kapers, Switzerland’s largest cabin-crew union.

It added that Swiss repeatedly assured the union during 2004 that it would avoid serving notice on the collective contract.

“With this decision, Swiss has once again carelessly undermined deep-rooted job satisfaction,” said Kapers.

The carrier also announced the appointment of a new head of personnel. Antonio Schulthess will take up his position next month.

In November the company posted its first quarterly profit but stressed that it would try to keep costs down to ensure its survival.

swissinfo

Key facts

Swiss flies with a fleet of 80 aeroplanes to 70 destinations.
Staff numbers (September 2004): 7,454 (not including subsidiaries), of which 1,247 are pilots und 3,204 cabin crew.
Total passengers in 2003: 8.23 million.

In brief

Swiss has told cabin crew their collective contract will run only to the end of 2005.

It delivered the same message to ground crew in September 2004.

New contracts will be negotiated next year.