At Geneva Airport (GVA), flights have been canceled as a result of the staff’s extension of a strike in opposition to a salary freeze.
The airport strike on Friday caused travel disruptions for a large number of passengers, igniting new worries that staff protests amid labor shortages may bring about another summer of chaos in European cities, particularly Geneva, which serves as a hub for diplomats and officials going to the UN Office at Geneva.
According to airport officials, the strike grounded all flights between 6:00 am and 10 am, resulting in flight delays and outright cancellations that affected travelers at both the arrivals and departures areas throughout the day.
read more: Heathrow security staff launch ten-day strike over cost of living crisis
To prevent strikers from swarming inside, police and security personnel were stationed outside the terminal.
The strike was called after the airport’s board on Thursday approved a new wage policy that prohibits pay increases and is opposed by airport employees.
A hundred or so workers gathered outside the airport’s departure area to voice their opposition to the recently approved salary policy by the airport’s board of directors.
The Public Services Union decided to extend its strike through the rest of Friday and to return to the picket line on Saturday after it rejected an airport management proposal that could have put an end to the strike.
A union member claimed that it was challenging for everyone to comprehend how they ended up in this predicament.
It is the first time that airport employees who are directly employed by the facility, as opposed to subcontractors, have gone on strike. According to Swiss Airlines, those affected by the strike include tarmac guides and air traffic controllers.
Claire Pellegrin, chair of the airport staff commission, noted that strikes are “very uncommon” in Switzerland because they can only be called following a process of consultations.
It’s the last choice that we never anticipated having to make, she continued.
The aviation industry is making a healthy profit, according to Pierre-Yves Maillard, head of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation (USS), and this money should be distributed to the workforce.
Maillard from the USS, who arrived at the airport to support the strikers, stated: “The airport is a profitable business that enjoys a monopoly and is attacking the conditions of its staff.”
In the meantime, a wave of strikes and protests is sweeping through Europe due to high energy costs, an unprecedented rise in living expenses, poor pay, and long hours, as well as other contentious government policies.
, flights have been canceled as a result of the staff's extension of a strike in opposition to a salary freeze.){kind=link}