French air traffic controllers flag strike action

Peak holiday season is approaching in France. 

So, just as predictably as night follows day, are strike warnings.

French air traffic controllers are threatening to strike as the summer season starts for millions across Europe, Euronews and Travel Mole report.

The UNSA-ICNA union - the second-largest union for air traffic controllers in France - has filed a strike motion for the July 3 and 4, citing “toxic” and “authoritarian” management as one of the reasons for the walkout.

The union is calling for increased staffing levels and a pay rise, which have been denied by the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).

The third-largest ATC union, USAC-CGT, also issued a strike notice this week for July 3 but the largest union representing French air traffic controllers, SNCTA, has indicated that it isn’t calling for a strike.

The union has also criticised the DGAC for ” failing to modernise the tools that are essential for air traffic controllers, even though it keeps promising that all means are being put in place.”

The union cites repeated major breakdowns despite “weeks of repeated alerts.”

The DGAC has said it “deeply” regrets the choice of dates. The air traffic controllers strike dates correspond to the busiest days of the year, due to the numerous departures for vacations during this period.

In a statement, the DGAC acknowledge “the difficulties related to the situation of chronic understaffing,” which “affect the quality of the service provided to airlines.”

In France, air traffic controllers must submit a strike notice at least five days in advance. This is in accordance with the 1984 law governing the right to strike in the public service.

So it looks like two days of cancellations and delays later this week.

UPDATE: Budget airline Ryanair alone says it has been forced to cancel at least 170 flights due to the action which started on Friday.   

Yet another issue at troubled Heathrow Airport

 

Barely a week goes by without some report of issues at London's Heathrow Airport.

The latest is that ground workers at Heathrow have started a three-day strike over a pay dispute.

The Unite union, which represents the workers, says the strike involves 350 workers employed by sub-contractor Menzies.

Unite says it could disrupt flights departing terminals 2, 3 and 4.

Flights operated by Air Canada, American Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Air Portugal, Austrian Airlines, Qantas, Egypt Air, Aer Lingus and Finnair are most at risk.

The walk-out is over a "derisory" pay offer by Menzies which is effectively a "real terms pay cut," Travel Mole reported Unite as saying.

“They had every opportunity to make a fair pay offer, but have chosen not to do so,” Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said.

Heathrow Airport said in a statement that it is "in discussions with airline partners on what contingency plans they can implement".

A separate dispute involving Menzies and dnata ground staff was resolved meaning flights taking football fans to the World Cup in Qatar will not be affected.

Australian workers beware: logistics company under fire

DP World is a United Arab Emirates multinational logistics company based in Dubai.

It specialises in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones.

In Australia it operates container terminals at DP World Brisbane, DP World Fremantle, DP World Melbourne, and DP World Sydney.

So what?

Well, DP World is also involved in the travel industry and is under fire for its unconscionable behaviour in the UK this week.

Ministers and trade unions have condemned P&O Ferries mass sacking of 800 British seafarers to replace them with scab labour as shameful and “completely unacceptable”, The Guardian reported.

P&O Ferries’ services could be suspended for up to 10 days, disrupting its cross-Channel and Irish Sea routes, after the operator sacked its entire British seafaring staff without notice.

Workers learned the news of their redundancy via a pre-recorded video message.

Staff were told by P&O to disembark passengers and freight before being sent a video message telling them P&O “vessels will be primarily crewed by a third-party crew provider … Your final day of employment is today.”

Scumbag behaviour.

Long-serving crew were removed from ships by security guards in Dover, Kent, and in Larne, near Belfast.

Replacement agency workers (who should hang their heads in shame) had already boarded some vessels in Dover on Thursday afternoon.

Legal experts have raised questions about whether employment laws had been breached. - bit clearly  union workers will plan to black ban the company and its Dubai owners.

“The way these workers were informed was completely unacceptable," said a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "Clearly the way that this was communicated to staff was not right and we have made that clear.”

But Johnson, like Australia's own Prime Minister for Promises, is renowned for talking a lot but doing very little.

The RMT union’s general secretary, Mick Lynch, said his organisation was seeking urgent legal action over “one of the most shameful acts in the history of British industrial relations”.

DP World is owned by Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund.