Member Mail 14 / 2023
2023 - A Year of Ups and Downs: Let's Fight for Fair Wage Negotiations Together!
Dear Colleagues
The aviation sector recovered extremely quickly. The labor market has dried up. The companies are tackling a heavy workload. Inflation is becoming normal again.
It is in times like these that we conducted wage negotiations at Swiss and Swissport, among others.
After Swiss unilaterally broke off the wage negotiations, the company's management has received an avalanche of "red protest cards" from us: Press Release – Hundreds of “Red Cards” Against Swiss’s Wage Policy : SEV-GATA. Insultingly, it was only after being under this kind of pressure that management decided to grant employees who are currently on the rise a one-off premium of CHF 2'000 in addition to the general wage increase of 1%, but at least CHF 90/month and 0.6% individually, distribution according to the matrix wage-development-agreement.pdf (sev-gata.ch). After all, there is a silver lining: With the sum of a 2% wage increase and the 2000 Franc premium, Swiss is now back within the average rate of wage increases for 2024. However, Swiss is not rewarding its employees for the top result in 2023 in any way whatsoever. Thus, our "red cards" remain well-deserved: Breaking off wage negotiations and "generously" distributing 2,000 thank-you bonuses in an outdated patriarchal manner is neither worthy of mature employees nor of a contemporary social partnership. The discussion we have requested with HR management will take place before Christmas.
Swissport Zurich also did not shine with generosity in wage negotiations. They are barely granting the agreed 80% minimum compensation for inflation https://sev-gata.ch/de/news/2023/swissport-zuerich-lohnverhandlungen-gescheitert/. Their petty behavior is regrettable even though our CLA with Swissport Zurich at least grants partial compensation for inflation, which we consider one of our trade union's successes. We are currently collecting signatures for a fair wage round at Swissport Zurich https://sev-gata.ch/de/news/2023/unterschriftensammlung-fuer-einen-fairen-lohnabschluss-bei-swissport-zh/. This is to ensure you receive a due amount of respect and that you can at least maintain your purchasing power.
SEV-GATA claims its right for cooperation with employers and lives participation within itself. We recently explored the issues of additional working days, flexibility, and break regulations with a survey among shift workers at Swiss-Technik. Next steps are to follow soon.
Discussions on various other topics are also underway with the companies, as we are constantly looking for solutions to your concerns. We will also conduct a survey regarding further CLA negotiations.
In the medium term, the negotiating delegation at Swissport Zurich needs reinforcement. Interested? Feel free to get in touch. We would be happy to discuss this opportunity with you.
These days, you have also received our "Müesli bar – SEV-GATA: Ready for Take Off". You can also find our anniversary competition with great prizes on it. Thank you for your solidarity. Haven't entered the competition yet? Complete it now at Happy Birthday SEV-GATA : SEV-GATA. Good luck!
2023 was a turbulent year. The behavior of employers seems to be hardening again. With your support, we fight for your dignity against arrogance and arbitrariness from employers. Are you in Membership : SEV-GATA? SEV-GATA is a truly worthwhile membership.
The entire aviation team wishes you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!
Our joint commitment is also needed in 2024. We look forward to working with you!
Kind regards,
Philipp Hadorn, President
SEV-GATA, your union in the aviation industry!
Philipp Hadorn, President GATA: SEV-Aviation
/ www.sev-gata.ch / www.sev-online.ch