Member Mail 8 / 2024
Summer Rush at Swissport
Swiss: Success Due to Persistence
Wage Negotiations 2024
Dear Colleagues
Summer is finally here, the desire to travel and thus the flight movements are almost back at pre-pandemic levels.
Summer Rush at Swissport
What is the highlight of the year for passengers means peek workloads for many employees, e.g. those at Swissport. With the increasing number of passengers, the volume of luggage also rises – both in kilograms and in individual pieces. Changes in flight schedules demand flexibility from our colleagues. Interestingly, we were able to combine our "Anniversary GM: 20 Years in SEV" just a few weeks ago with luggage logistics at Zurich Airport.
We continue to fight for Swissport to finally grant colleagues the wage increases they are entitled to in the current year. In the meantime, we have called upon the Court of Arbitration concerning the 2024 wage adjustments. The employees deserve a wage increase!
Swiss: Achievements Due to Persistence
Even after the extreme result in 2023, Swiss reported an excellent result in the first half of 2024. Nevertheless, the current leadership is hesitant, even when it comes to urgent improvements.
We have been able to achieve some successes over the past few months thanks to our perseverance:
- Fuel tank allowance: 51 employees currently receive the allowance of CHF 50.00/month. Only upon the intervention of SEV-GATA was it possible to reach an agreement that compensation would be granted to colleagues in this demanding activity.
- Wage corrections: Wage increases (additional costs for Swiss of a total of CHF 24,000/year) were made from the follow-up implementation provisions for salary models (wage curves) due to the required checks for 6 colleagues in the S/TC areas as of 1 July 2024.
- "Stay abroad allowances": Thanks to the information provided by members, SEV-GATA was able to establish that Swiss, in violation of trade union information rights, reduced the compensation for stays abroad for a specific group with a "threat of termination" (termination of employment with "automatic termination" in the absence of a signature) to such an extent that approximately a full monthly salary was lost. Thanks to joint commitment with those affected, SEV-GATA was able to find a new, but almost equivalent solution.
SEV-GATA is in the lead on various other issues,in collaboration with those affected. We will report on the results.
Wage Negotiations 2024
We are already preparing for the upcoming wage negotiations. Experience has taught us that the resistance of the workforce to the need for action has yet to reach its full potential. The inconclusive negotiations for the current year, for example at Swissport ZRH and Swiss, have shown that bottom-up pressure from employees will be crucial this year.
SEV-GATA will stay tuned, for you, but together with you, so that your working conditions will be better. You deserve it. We can represent your interests more successfully if even more colleagues become members of SEV-GATA. You can invite your colleagues to join online and receive a thank you bonus of CHF 50.00 for each new member you recruit.
SEV-GATA, your aviation union, committed to your interests - thank you for your trust!
Kind regards,
Philipp Hadorn, President & Trade Union Secretary SEV
SEV-GATA, your union in the aviation industry!
Philipp Hadorn, President GATA: SEV-Aviation
/ www.sev-gata.ch / www.sev-online.ch