Air France, unions reach deal to end pay dispute

Air France management and unions announced Friday that they had reached a deal aimed at ending months of strikes that set the airline back hundreds of millions of euros.

Five unions representing 76.4 percent of the personnel accepted management’s offer of a four-percent pay rise to be spread over 2018 and 2019, the two sides announced.

The main pilots’ union, which is holding out for a separate deal, did not sign the accord but Air France said that it was nonetheless “considered valid and will be implemented.”

The deal is a feather in the cap of new Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith, who took the helm in August after a turbulent few months marked by 15 days of strikes, which caused widespread travel disruptions.

Smith, who is Canadian, thanked the various parties “for the quality of our discussions over the past few weeks”.

“This way of working between all parties provides Air France and the Air France-KLM Group with a new perspective going forward, and it is my hope that it will ensure the future success of our airlines,” he said in a statement.

Air France said the strikes set it back 335 million euros ($385 million).

Smith, the airline’s first non-French boss, succeeded Jean-Marc Janaillac who resigned in May after failing to get unions to call off months of strikes.

Under the final deal, workers will receive a two-percent increase for 2018, retroactive to the start of the year, and a further two-percent increase in January 2019. AFP)