Special Member Mail About the Resignation of the Swiss CEO

Dear Colleagues

SEV-GATA has reacted to the unexpected resignation of CEO Thomas Klühr with the following press release.

Kind regards,

Philipp Hadorn, President

SEV-GATA, your union in the aviation idustry! 
Philipp Hadorn, President GATA: SEV Aviation
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Personnel change in Swiss management raises questions

SEV-GATA Demands Job Guarantees, Affirmed Working Conditions And That the Zurich Hub Be Maintained

SEV-GATA, the aviation department of the Swiss transport workers' union (SEV), is irritated by the resignation of the Swiss CEO in the middle of the corona crisis. Guarantees for Switzerland as a place of work within the Lufthansa Group (LH) are now urgently necessary.

"Replacing the CEO in times of crisis raises questions – despite all due understanding for Thomas Klühr's private reasons for his resignation at the end of the year ", says SEV union secretary Philipp Hadorn, President of SEV-GATA." We are worried about the jobs, wages and working conditions of Swiss employees and demand that Swiss management continue to do their utmost to preserve them. And ZRH airport must retain its relevance in the LH system."

Breaking the Vicious Circle Around Corona

Not "only" the future of Swiss employees themselves is at stake, but also the maintenance of systemically relevant structures in Swiss aviation and the development of the entire aviation industry and economy in the affected regions. A reduction in jobs, social benefits and Swiss services would also impact flight-related operations, the job market in Zurich and Geneva, Swiss tourism and the entire economy. "The point is not to intensify the vicious circle around the virus, but to break it," says Philipp Hadorn.

Negotiations Cancelled

The negotiations with Swiss ground staff concerning savings packages, scheduled for 30 September 2020, had to be cancelled today, as Swiss failed to provide the unions with the necessary evidence to prove that cost-cutting measures at Swiss are mandatory due to its contracts with the federal government. SEV-GATA is unwilling to finance entrepreneurial freedom on the back of the staff. Taxpayers expect the quality of this systemically important business to be maintained. The financial aid from the government should also guarantee that.