Posted: 01/07/2022 – 09:47 Modified: 01/07/2022 – 09:50
About 10 percent of all flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) were canceled due to ground staff strikes on Thursday and a similar interruption is expected by Friday, a spokesman for the airport operator ADP.
Due to the planned demonstrations, he added, road traffic leading to CDG could be disrupted on Friday and he advised travelers to take a train from Paris to the airport.
The spokesman said Orly airport, south of Paris, was unaffected by the march, which was called in a dispute over wages and benefits.
With air traffic returning to pre-pandemic levels, hardline union CGT and others want serious wage increases to offset rampant inflation, which hit a record 6.5 percent in France in June. The CGT demands a general salary increase of 300 euros per month for the entire workforce.
Workers’ demands come as airlines struggle to recruit staff after having massively reduced their numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The French aviation authority DGAC has asked airlines to cancel a flight every six Fridays between 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and 14:00. Airport operator ADP expects about 10 percent of flights to be canceled on Friday.
On Thursday, only ADP workers were on strike, but on Friday staff from airlines, subcontractors and other airport-related companies are expected to join.
A first strike at Paris airport on June 9, which involved 1,500 strikers, according to the CGT, led to the cancellation of 20 per cent of morning flights to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle.
“Wages should increase, not by two or three percent, but by 15 to 20 percent,” said Loris Foreman, a ground service agent at Paris’ main international airport, on the eve of the march.
“When you start at 5:00 in the morning or work overtime all the time, that leads to exhaustion, and at the moment there are a lot of airport staff who are on sick leave due to depression,” he said. add.
Last month, Foreman earned 1,770 euros net, but said this no longer allows him to live comfortably, with inflation eroding his salary.
He now has to go around supermarkets looking for food promotions, showing three jars of cream in the fridge and a shoulder of lamb in the freezer, and never filling his car’s fuel tank to the top, he said.
A strike is a nuisance for travelers, Foreman acknowledged, but added that he had no choice.
“Yes, we know we are taking the passengers hostage, but we need to make our voice heard and the only way to do that is with a strike,” he said.
Several European airlines and airports have experienced strikes in recent weeks and more travel disruptions are expected next month, as airline workers use strong travel demand and staff shortages caused in part by the Covid-19 pandemic to drive higher wages and better working conditions.
Airports in cities such as London, Amsterdam, Rome and Frankfurt have had to deal with flight cancellations and long queues.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)