24 June 2014 Media Report

Ballot on the New CLA for SWISS Ground Personnel

Narrow Majority of SEV-GATA Members

With a majority of 52 % the SEV-GATA union grass roots accepted the new CLA for SWISS Ground Personnel. The message to SWISS is clear: there is a limit to austerity in the working conditions for ground staff.

“The narrow majority is due to the CLA including two significant disadvantages for the personnel along with a number of improvements,” says Philipp Hadorn, SEV-GATA president and SEV-union secretary, “an increase in weekly working hours and an adjustment of shift systems.”  
Those affected are very sceptical about the latter. SWISS intends to push through increased working hours and vacation provisions rigorously for technical staff, too, regardless of the extremely hard pressure they are under during shift work. “Even if the final agreement provides that a parity team is appointed to solve this problem, there are basic differences,“ says Philipp Hadorn. SEV-GATA would lead these negotiations under the participation of the shift workers concerned. According to current practice the deciding factor would be whether they accept the solutions to be negotiated or whether they are ready for fighting, if necessary. “SWISS still seems to ignore the strain on the shift workers’ health and social life going along with aircraft maintenance on night shifts, in all weathers and in irregular duties,” Phillip Hadorn regrets.

Following CLA provisions are ready for implementation: 
- individual basic salaries will be increased by 1% and backdated to January 1, 2014  
- vacation entitlement will be increased by 1 day    
- introduction of the variable Success Participation Plan EBM replacing the
current Profit Participation Plan PPP with retroactive effect on 1 January 2014      
- introduction of a guaranteed reserve fund for individual performance bonuses opened with 0.75 % of the total annual basic salary
- increase of  Pikett compensation to CHF 50 (Mo – Fr) respectively CHF 100 (Saturday, Sunday, holidays)       
- protection from termination of employment for employees between the age of 55 – 58          
- early retirements will be effected in accordance with the social plan, too       
- increase of weekly working hours from 41 to 42 hours   
- increase of the age of ordinary retirement by 1 year to 64 years with the corresponding increase of pension capital

 “Persistent conflicts of SWISS management with all staff categories will result in passengers losing their loyalty to their favourite carrier – an economic risk, apparently still being ignored by SWISS“, Philipp Hadorn analyses. In his position as a member of the National Council he adds: “SWISS has been equipped with a huge amount of Swiss tax money to make it attractive for takeover by Lufthansa. With a staff policy like this the company is gradually running the risk to lose the privileges still granted today.” 

SEV-GATA (Groundstaff Aviation Technics and Administration) is the aviation department of the SEV, the transport staff union.  www.sev-gata.ch