KLM Ground Staff Call Off Sunday Strike Plan, to Resume Talks

(Bloomberg) -- The ground staff of Air France-KLM’s Dutch arm canceled their plan to strike work on Sunday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest travel hubs, after KLM indicated willingness to redress their grievances, FNV union said in a statement on its website.

“KLM has until the end of next week to come to an agreement on the most important issues,” FNV union leader Jan van den Brink said. FNV union will resume talks Monday with KLM, along with other unions that had already agreed to sit down with the airline, part of the Air France-KLM group.

The ground staff went on strike last Monday and Wednesday for a total of four hours, causing disruption for carriers that are part of its SkyTeam alliance, including Air France, Transavia and Delta Air Lines Inc. It advised travelers to monitor its website closely for more information.

KLM’s 15,000 ground staff are seeking a 4% pay rise, more fixed contracts and more favorable shift patterns, said FNV. The union has been negotiating with management for months over a new collective labor agreement. The company has offered a 2% pay rise, which the union says is not enough.

Almost 80 million passengers pass through Schiphol each year and it’s a major center for transfers between intercontinental and regional flights.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Pals in amsterdam at fpals@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Heather Harris at hharris5@bloomberg.net, Srinivasan Sivabalan, James Cone

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