Reject 5%! An Indefinite Strike! The Operation Of Europe's Largest Cargo Flight Has Been Disrupted.

Under the influence of the general environment, strikes continued to break out in Europe and the United States.

 

Recently, Luxembourg Cargo Airlines, Europe's largest cargo carrier, suffered its first general strike in 50 years.

 

The strike, launched by the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) and the Independent Luxembourg Confederation of Trade Unions (OGBL), attracted a large number of employees. It is reported that more than 700 workers gathered outside the company's headquarters.

 

The representative of LCGB stressed that the workers were determined to strike until a satisfactory solution was found.

 

 

At present, the entire fleet of Luxembourg cargo airline Cargolux (a total of 30 freighters) has stopped operation, and the situation has reached an impasse. The strike brought huge losses to the company, at a cost of $25,000 per hour per aircraft.

 

Recently, Paul de Araujo of the LCGB union said in an interview that pilots, ground crew, and technicians were actively involved and were satisfied with the ongoing strike.

 

It also said that Luxembourg cargo airline planes were grounded around the world, "including the cities of Luxembourg, Baku, Bahrain, Dubai, Hong Kong, Anchorage, Chicago, Houston, and Mexico City."

 

An indefinite general strike?

 

At present, neither management nor the unions have publicly indicated that any negotiations are imminent.

The strike by Cargolux employees of Luxembourg Cargo Airlines was the result of a failure to negotiate a new collective agreement.

 

The union announced that the current strike would be indefinite, putting pressure on the leadership of the Luxembourg-based freight company.

 

At the same time, Luxembourg cargo employees seem to resonate with these requirements. The LCGB union shared the position of the Luxembourg Airlines Pilots Association (ALPL) on the matter.

 

At a news conference, the pilot of the Luxembourg flagship airline expressed "full support" for the "legitimate and legitimate" demands of the cargo company's employees. At the same time, it also pointed out the "major problems" within Luxembourg cargo flights.

In view of this situation, ALPL decided to convene a committee meeting to determine the "necessary strike action".

 

The government will not intervene in labor disputes. Although only Transport Minister Franois Bausch chose to comment on the matter, the recent social conflict between Luxembourg cargo airlines has been discussed by the government committee. In line with its previous position, Bausch reiterated its position that the government will not be directly involved in ongoing labor disputes. On the contrary, the role of the government is to promote dialogue among the parties concerned. Even if the government of Luxembourg is a shareholder in the cargo airline, it will not intervene directly in such matters. But government hope that both sides can work together to find a solution.

 

What is the reason for the strike?

 

The fundamental difference between employers and unions is that there are serious differences in pay, that is, the structure of the planned pay increase.

 

Although Cargolux plans to get a 5 per cent pay rise within five years, the union wants a 6 per cent raise within four years.

 

Meanwhile, Richard Forson, chief executive of Cargolux, said the union's demands were "unreasonable".

 

In refuting the union's position, Forson and Cargolux stressed that employees' personal income last year was about 85000 euros, which will rise to 200000 euros within three years. This is part of the company's profit-sharing incentive.

 

However, the unions do not agree with this view, arguing that bonuses are not a fixed part of the wage structure and therefore cannot be compared with their demands.

 

Instead, they stressed that wages were largely stagnant between 2003 and 2019. In addition, Paul de Araujo of the LCGB union points out that upcoming investments make future bonuses uncertain.

 

But bonuses are not the only source of debate between employers and unions. Wage indexation is also under discussion. Unions are seeking assurances that wage indexation will be paid even if any future government changes the plan.

 

This may be a prescient question, as it turns out that a large number of indexation is costly for employers, and some indexation is deliberately delayed to mitigate the blow.

 

In some ways, this raises questions about the continued viability of the index system.

 

Forson responded that the company would protect employees if the indexing system was restricted, but noted that this would not extend to cancelled or delayed indexing.