Media Report of March 19, 2012
Agreement on Employments at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse
SEV demands obligatory CLA at EuroAirport
For many years there has been insecurity about the applicable law at «EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse». After a court decision in favour of France employers and employees want to get a clear idea as to whether Swiss law will continue to be applied as it has been understood for decades. An agreement seems to be reached, provided that an equal standard of the employees’ social protection in Switzerland can be guaranteed. SEV transport staff union demands an obligatory CLA to prove it. The employers are still hesitating.
Legally EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse is a grey area, being partly Swiss and partly French. The question whether Swiss or French law should be applied, has led to disputes over and over again. Now an agreement between the two countries is ready to be signed. The trade unions have been involved too.
The aviation section of the transport staff union, GATA: SEV Aviation demands an amendment to this agreement «One important point is missing: Only a CLA obligatory for the companies concerned will garantee a social standard, which meets French labour law», Philipp Hadorn, union secretary SEV and president SEV-GATA explains. «Experience has shown that without an ‹obligatory CLA › the declarations given by the companies did not lead to success so far. A number of firms concerned refused to talk about collective labour agreements, CLA’s, settled by contract» he adds.
Essentially the agreement aims to create legal security at the EuroAirport. Although Swiss law has traditionally been applied in the past, a French court recently decided that this sector should be subject to French law. An agreement between both countries is now supposed to clarify the matter. The French government made it a condition that an equal standard of the employees’ protection is guaranteed by applying Swiss law.
SEV-GATA is backing the request for legal security. In order to achieve a standard equal to French law an obligatory CLA is required as «conditio sine qua non» to sign the agreement, which has been communicated to the relevant government authorities too.