British Airways faces the risk of a strike through cabin crew after failing to agree on new terms with Unite the Union. BA proposed pay cuts for most flight attendants to save more jobs, even though some newer team members would get a pay raise. BA said it would fire the workers and rehire them for new contracts if an agreement was not reached.
Despite this point of tension in airlines’ business relationships, the number of press articles on CAPA’s online page that mention the word “strike” has dried up into a slightly noticeable network. This measure, which CAPA has followed over the past decade, has followed the airline’s benefit cycle, which is not unexpected as the workforce is not easier when the benefit cycle is at its peak (and vice versa).
Both measures are expected to fall to their lowest level this year.
A decrease in claims would be welcome, but not as a mirror image of the economic devastation suffered by the airline industry through the COVID-19 crisis.
Summary
CAPA publishes more than three hundred articles on aviation worldwide every day, so many trends can be discerned when keywords appear or not.
The number of press articles on the ACAM online page mentioning the word “strike” peaked in 2016, with 1,228 articles of this type. This is 30% more than in 2015 and more than in any year of the last decade.
In 2017, there was a 28% drop in the number of parts related to the strike to 880, almost equal in 2018, while the total of 875 (a decrease of 1%).
The 2019 total fell 30% to 616, the lowest number since 381 in 2009.
As of 1S2020, the number of pieces mentioning “strike” fell by 86% in a year, to just 44. If the same rate of expansion continued the year, there would be 86 of those parts by 2020.
This may be even lower, as monthly figures have slowed to a low since March 2020. Even most of them referred to mentions of movements in past periods, or movements in general, rather than actual or planned movements during the month in question.
Regardless of the final number by 2020, this year’s total appears to be the lowest since 2009, when it was 381.
Over the past decade, the number of press articles on capa’s strike has shown a broad correlation with the global airline industry’s annual operating profit margin.
Both followed a large upward trajectory between 2009 and 2016, and both have declined since 2016. This correlation supports speculation that paints become more difficult than a higher percentage of rewards as the profit cycle approaches the top.
On the other hand, when the airline industry faces more economic challenges, the bargaining force of workers’ teams shrinks and holding on to jobs becomes its goal. This makes movements incredibly infrequent when airlines are at the back of the benefit cycle.
The last lowest point in the annual strike-related count dates back to 2009, the global currency crisis, when the operating margin of the airline sector was only 0.4%.
A new record of strike-related items will be recorded in 2020, coinciding with a record negative operating margin for the airline industry.
As noted above, stories of imaginable movements or movements have been very rare in 2020.
In July 2020, CAPA reported a planned strike through Air France’s HOP airline. Lille Airport, to protest against plans to close its MRO base.
By the time the locks were installed in the maximum number of countries in the world, the number of parts similar to the strike a little greater, although it had already begun to decline considerably. There were 36 in January 2020 and February 2020, compared to 107 in the first two months of 2019.
The first few months of 2020 included the policy of a small number of real or threatened strikes.
These included the easyJet flat in Lisbon; London Heathrow and Gatwick airports; Air France HOP drivers!; Air France pilots and cockpit equipment; Swissport soil handlers in Helsinki and Montreal; Alitalia; air traffic controllers in France and Italy; Earth in Jetstar; and cabin equipment at Cathay Pacific.
As is the case, Europe has taken a disproportionate percentage of these items.
However, the latest headlines on trade in the European airline industry have focused on reducing staff and wages.
Airlines will reduce the steady, semi-constant costs that come with labor, while unions are concerned about restricting task losses and have agreed to pay cuts to achieve this.
Ryanair has agreed to cut payments with various groups of workers. These come with wage discounts for cabin equipment in the UK and Ireland from 5% to 10%, restored in 4 years, negotiated with Unite the Union and Fursa; and 20% discounts, restored over 4 years, for British and Irish drivers.
There are also examples of trade agreements between major European air groups.
British Airways agreed to pay cuts with the BALPA pilots’ union before falling into a confrontation with cabin crew representatives.
Air France-KLM has reached a new agreement with the French pilots’ union SNPL to allow its economic subsidiary Transavia France to operate on the French national market (subject to a vote through union members).
Lufthansa has reached an agreement with cabin crew, but even with other worker teams, on its restructuring program.
However, not all collective bargaining went smoothly during the crisis.
German pilots hired through Ryanair’s Malta Air subsidiary have rejected a new collective agreement. As a result, Ryanair would possibly close bases in Frankfurt Hahn, Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf.
Ryanair has cut off operations in the subsidiary, Laudamotion, after its pilots failed to agree on new conditions.
Ryanair has established its organizational structure, deploying subsidiary airlines in addition to Ryanair’s main operation, to give it greater flexibility in its collective bargaining.
If one subsidiary’s staff is difficult, you can drive expansion through another. Ryanair’s agreements with British and Irish staff their position.
As one of the few European airline teams that actively market percentage expansion in the post-virus recovery phase, Ryanair will likely remain a preferable employer compared to many other airlines.
At Europe’s largest LCC, easyJet, members of THE BALPA pilots’ union expressed discontent with the proposed task cuts by voting un trusted by easyJet’s chief operating officer, Peter Bellew.
Such a vote has no immediate consequences, but it demonstrates the delicate state of trade relations within the airline seeking to succeed through the crisis.
Strike plans reported through BA’s cabin crew and floor staff also demonstrate that airlines cannot accept staff paying for pay for pay cuts, even with the very genuine risk of significant task cuts to help airlines.
However, it is the exception that confirms the rule at this time. References to movements at the airline have almost dried up.
At the back of the benefit cycle, it is not unusual for control to have the advantage over paints in airline business relationships.
However, the existing cyclic depression is deeper than ever. This does not threaten the jobs of the airline industry, but rather the lifestyle of a giant component of the industry itself.
It is of mutual interest to staff and control to navigate collaboratively through the crisis. At the moment, the main one is short-term survival. Over time, more basic adjustments will be needed, making cooperative understanding of disorders and demanding situations even more important.
British Airways faces the risk of a strike through cabin crew after failing to agree on new terms with Unite the Union. BA proposed pay cuts for most flight attendants to save more jobs, even though some newer team members would get a pay raise. BA said it would fire the workers and rehire them for new contracts if an agreement was not reached.
Despite this point of tension in airlines’ business relationships, the number of press articles on CAPA’s online page that mention the word “strike” has dried up into a slightly noticeable network. This measure, which CAPA has followed over the past decade, has followed the airline’s benefit cycle, which is not unexpected as the workforce is not easier when the benefit cycle is at its peak (and vice versa).
Both measures are expected to fall to their lowest level this year.
A decrease in claims would be welcome, but not as a mirror image of the economic devastation suffered by the airline industry through the COVID-19 crisis.
Summary
CAPA publishes more than three hundred articles on aviation worldwide every day, so many trends can be discerned when keywords appear or not.
The number of press articles on the ACAM online page mentioning the word “strike” peaked in 2016, with 1,228 articles of this type. This is 30% more than in 2015 and more than in any year of the last decade.
In 2017, there was a 28% drop in the number of parts related to the strike to 880, almost equal in 2018, while the total of 875 (a decrease of 1%).
The 2019 total fell 30% to 616, the lowest number since 381 in 2009.
As of 1S2020, the number of pieces mentioning “strike” fell by 86% in a year, to just 44. If the same rate of expansion continued the year, there would be 86 of those parts by 2020.
This may be even lower, as monthly figures have slowed to a low since March 2020. Even most of them referred to mentions of movements in past periods, or movements in general, rather than actual or planned movements during the month in question.
Number of CAPA articles mentioning the ”strike” (left axis): 2009 to 2019 and for 1S2019 and 1S2020
Source: CAPA – Aviation Center.
Regardless of the final number by 2020, this year’s total appears to be the lowest since 2009, when it was 381.
Over the past decade, the number of press articles on capa’s strike has shown a broad correlation with the global airline industry’s annual operating profit margin.
Both followed a large upward trajectory between 2009 and 2016, and both have declined since 2016. This correlation supports speculation that paints become more difficult than a higher percentage of rewards as the profit cycle approaches the top.
On the other hand, when the airline industry faces more economic challenges, the bargaining force of workers’ teams shrinks and holding on to jobs becomes its goal. This makes movements incredibly infrequent when airlines are at the back of the benefit cycle.
The last lowest point in the annual strike-related count dates back to 2009, the global currency crisis, when the operating margin of the airline sector was only 0.4%.
A new record of strike-related items will be recorded in 2020, coinciding with a record negative operating margin for the airline industry.
Number of CAPA articles mentioning the word ”strike” (left axis) and operating margin of airlines (right axis): 2009 to 2020
The number of parts for 2020a is a year-over-year expansion rate projection for 1S2020. Source: CAPA – Aviation Center, ICAO.
As noted above, stories of imaginable movements or movements have been very rare in 2020.
In July 2020, CAPA reported a planned strike through Air France’s HOP airline. Lille Airport, to protest against plans to close its MRO base.
By the time the locks were installed in the maximum number of countries in the world, the number of parts similar to the strike a little greater, although it had already begun to decline considerably. There were 36 in January 2020 and February 2020, compared to 107 in the first two months of 2019.
The first few months of 2020 included the policy of a small number of real or threatened strikes.
These included the easyJet flat in Lisbon; London Heathrow and Gatwick airports; Air France HOP drivers!; Air France pilots and cockpit equipment; Swissport soil handlers in Helsinki and Montreal; Alitalia; air traffic controllers in France and Italy; Earth in Jetstar; and cabin equipment at Cathay Pacific.
As is the case, Europe has taken a disproportionate percentage of these items.
However, the latest headlines on trade in the European airline industry have focused on reducing staff and wages.
Airlines will reduce the steady, semi-constant costs that come with labor, while unions are concerned about restricting task losses and have agreed to pay cuts to achieve this.
Ryanair has agreed to cut payments with various groups of workers. These come with wage discounts for cabin equipment in the UK and Ireland from 5% to 10%, restored in 4 years, negotiated with Unite the Union and Fursa; and 20% discounts, restored over 4 years, for British and Irish drivers.
There are also examples of trade agreements between major European air groups.
British Airways agreed to pay cuts with the BALPA pilots’ union before falling into a confrontation with cabin crew representatives.
Air France-KLM has reached a new agreement with the French pilots’ union SNPL to allow its economic subsidiary Transavia France to operate on the French national market (subject to a vote through union members).
Lufthansa has reached an agreement with cabin crew, but even with other worker teams, on its restructuring program.
However, not all collective bargaining went smoothly during the crisis.
German pilots hired through Ryanair’s Malta Air subsidiary have rejected a new collective agreement. As a result, Ryanair would possibly close bases in Frankfurt Hahn, Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf.
Ryanair has cut operations in the subsidiary, Laudamotion, after its pilots failed to agree on the new conditions.
Ryanair has established its organizational structure, deploying subsidiary airlines in addition to Ryanair’s main operation, to give it greater flexibility in its collective bargaining.
If one subsidiary’s staff is difficult, you can drive expansion through another. Ryanair’s agreements with British and Irish staff their position.
As one of the few European airline teams that actively market percentage expansion in the post-virus recovery phase, Ryanair will likely remain a preferable employer compared to many other airlines.
At Europe’s largest LCC, easyJet, members of the BALPA pilots union expressed discontent with the proposed task cuts by voting un trusted by easyJet’s chief operating officer, Peter Bellew.
Such a vote has no immediate consequences, but it demonstrates the delicate state of trade relations within the airline seeking to succeed through the crisis.
Strike plans reported through BA’s cabin crew and floor staff also demonstrate that airlines cannot accept staff paying for pay for pay cuts, even with the very genuine risk of significant task cuts to help airlines.
However, it is the exception that confirms the rule at this time. References to movements at the airline have almost dried up.
At the back of the benefit cycle, it is not unusual for control to have the advantage over paints in airline business relationships.
However, the existing cyclic depression is deeper than ever. This does not threaten the jobs of the airline industry, but rather the lifestyle of a giant component of the industry itself.
It is of mutual interest to staff and control to navigate collaboratively through the crisis. At the moment, the main one is short-term survival. Over time, more basic adjustments will be needed, making cooperative understanding of disorders and demanding situations even more important.