[France] Air traffic controllers win right to be up to 3 hours late for work

In France, air traffic controllers have won the right to turn up to work three hours late after the government abandoned plans to force them to report on time, MSN reports.

The Macron government gave airport staff the right to stay in bed during their shifts in the wake of a row with the National Union of Air Traffic Controllers. The union threatened to call on members to walk out before the Paris Olympics.

Controllers earn annual salaries of up to £93,000 and work 32 hours a week, however, they can attend work 25 per cent less than this, according to French media. According to The Times, some take holidays when scheduled to work.

Under the new deal signed by the government, staff will get a pay rise of up to £15,500 and additional benefits including 18 further days off a year and retirement at 59. This outcome has reportedly been widely seen as a coup for the union.

The deal comes after planned strikes - ultimately called off - led to hundreds of flights being cancelled at the last minute in April, putting holidays in jeopardy for tens of thousands of customers. 

When strike threats were at their height last month, cancellation numbers were at their highest 'in 20 years', according to Augustin de Romanet, CEO of ADP, the company operating the capital's airports. 

French ministers reportedly wanted to force air traffic controllers to attend work whenever they were scheduled to as part of new reforms aimed at improving productivity.

However, there was a negotiation breakdown with unions regarding the planned overhaul. Workers demanded that it be accompanied by high salaries and threatened strike action.

Fears that strikes would cause travel chaos during the summer Olympics ministers felt pressure to sign a deal. It was subsequently leaked to French media.

According to reporting from The Times, the deal is set to cost airlines more than £60 million over the next four years.

Source: MSN

(Links via original reporting)

In France, air traffic controllers have won the right to turn up to work three hours late after the government abandoned plans to force them to report on time, MSN reports.

The Macron government gave airport staff the right to stay in bed during their shifts in the wake of a row with the National Union of Air Traffic Controllers. The union threatened to call on members to walk out before the Paris Olympics.

Controllers earn annual salaries of up to £93,000 and work 32 hours a week, however, they can attend work 25 per cent less than this, according to French media. According to The Times, some take holidays when scheduled to work.

Under the new deal signed by the government, staff will get a pay rise of up to £15,500 and additional benefits including 18 further days off a year and retirement at 59. This outcome has reportedly been widely seen as a coup for the union.

The deal comes after planned strikes - ultimately called off - led to hundreds of flights being cancelled at the last minute in April, putting holidays in jeopardy for tens of thousands of customers. 

When strike threats were at their height last month, cancellation numbers were at their highest 'in 20 years', according to Augustin de Romanet, CEO of ADP, the company operating the capital's airports. 

French ministers reportedly wanted to force air traffic controllers to attend work whenever they were scheduled to as part of new reforms aimed at improving productivity.

However, there was a negotiation breakdown with unions regarding the planned overhaul. Workers demanded that it be accompanied by high salaries and threatened strike action.

Fears that strikes would cause travel chaos during the summer Olympics ministers felt pressure to sign a deal. It was subsequently leaked to French media.

According to reporting from The Times, the deal is set to cost airlines more than £60 million over the next four years.

Source: MSN

(Links via original reporting)