In total, a hundred planes will not leave from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, Thursday June 9, including 85 just for Air France, the main company to operate there. An inter-union indeed calls all the employees of the airport to the strike to ask for increases. A quarter of flights at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle are canceled, including 85 only for Air France, the main company to operate there. These are short and medium haul flights. Others will be delayed, especially for the company’s long haul.
>> Unlimited strike in airports: “We are just demanding decent wages”, explains a CGT union
Among the requests for mobilized personnel, there is a question of compensation in the face of inflation. Thus, dSince 2017, Abdelamid Ijaouane has worked for an Air France subcontractor who handles freight at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport (Seine-Saint-Denis). With his wife and two daughters, he lives in Gennevilliers (Hauts-de-Seine), about twenty kilometers from his work.
And every day, it’s his car that he takes: “We work odd hours all the time. We do nights, we do mornings, we do Sundays… It works, so we have to have a car. Public transport is a bit complicated at night“, he explains. And with soaring fuel prices, he has made his accounts: “It becomes very, very heavy for me. For example, a full tank of gas cost me between 60 and 70 euros. Now I do it for 90 euros. Filling up now is like investing!“, he quips.
Added to these costs are food costs which increase, as everywhere with inflation. Despite the recovery in the airline sector, gross wages remain frozen. “The supervisors earn about 2,000 – 2,200 euros, if we work nights, if we work Sundays. But the agents, them, touch the Smic. The companies took the opportunity to say there is no increase with the crisis. But there is no crisis in terms of freight, not at all”he complains. The unions are asking for a 300 euro increase to deal with inflation.
And that would be just the beginning:The strike notice filed is unlimited. The movement could expand in the coming days.