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What's the latest on Christmas strike threat at Geneva airport?

The Local Switzerland
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What's the latest on Christmas strike threat at Geneva airport?
Baggage handlers and others could go on strike at Geneva airport. Photo: Pixabay

Ground staff at Geneva’s international airport have threatened to go on strike in the coming days unless their demands are met. What's the latest on the negotiations?

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The union representing hundreds of ground staff at Geneva’s international airport said on Wednesday employees will go on strike in the coming days, unless their demands for higher pension contributions are met by the management.

On Thursday last-ditch negotiations were taking place, with unions demanding that the management increases the percentage of contributions for occupational pensions.

If Thursday's talks are not productive, the union said members will go on strike, significantly disrupting the operations of Switzerland’s second-largest airport at the beginning of a busy holiday travel season.

Around 600 people work for DNATA, a company whose employees are responsible for de-icing of planes, handling of luggage, and other tasks.

The conflict is driven by the lower percentage of contributions for occupational pensions (LPP) that DNATA management has been paying its employees since October.

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As a result, “the staff voted for the combat measures and mandated the Public Services Union to launch a strike,” according to union secretary Jamshid Pouranpir.

He specified that the union’s demands are “a return to the old contribution model for the LPP and the conclusion of a good-level collective labour agreement.”

The last strike by Geneva airport employees, which took place in June 2023, paralysed airport operations, grounding flights for two days at the start of the busy summer travel season. 
 
 

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