65 per cent no votes: “I’m not going to do that to myself” – Swiss employee is considering termination after no CLA
The Swiss cabin crew had been bubbling for weeks because some of the staff did not agree with the new collective labour agreement. Now the staff has sunk the GAV.
The Swiss cabin crew has been bubbling for weeks. In January, 20 minutes spoke to seven employees who had all negatively commented about the new GAV—the voting period ended on Sunday. It is clear that 65 percent of the staff reject the new GAV.
In an internal message to the staff, available for 20 minutes, Swiss Human Resources writes: “The GAV23 was rejected in the vote with 65 per cent no votes. The turnout was 89.9 per cent. We deeply regret the rejection of the GAV. In the coming weeks, we will analyze the voting result and decide on how to proceed.”
The union kapers sent out a short press release on Monday afternoon. It says: “After a sometimes tough voting campaign, voting ended on February 20, 2023. With 65 percent no and 35 percent yes votes, the GAV23 was very clearly rejected. The high turnout of almost 90 percent testifies to the great importance of this vote.”
“Catastrophic Conditions”
The decision upsets the cabin crew. The 22-year-old SL* has only recently become a flight attendant with Swiss. “After saying no, I have to think about turning my back on aviation entirely. I now continue to earn 3,400 francs a month. It was clear beforehand that something had to happen. But now the situation is catastrophic. It is frightening that, despite massive price increases, we are not getting any wage increases anywhere and the old CLA will continue until spring 2024. »
L. knew about the discussions about the GAV but did not expect it to be rejected. “Swiss just doesn’t manage to pay decent wages to newcomers. Of course I wouldn’t like it either if I’d been working there for 20 years and then only got paid 250 francs more. But to have such an entry-level salary and that in 2023 is just under all sow. » Ultimately, a generation conflict caused the GAV to be rejected. “The older employees, who have a wage they can live on, have caused a stir because of the CLA, which would have made newcomers better off. Nobody has anything from the no now.”
Senior staff rejoices
“I think the atmosphere is great because most of them were so excited about the GAV23,” says the 39-year-old Maître de Cabine GL. “Now we feel the cohesion that we at least still have among the crews.” They talked a lot about the new GAV on every flight and tried to explain to the boys why accepting it wasn’t a good idea.
“Now that shows that we can’t just put up with everything.” She finally breathed a sigh of relief when the GAV was rejected. L. thinks their current contract is okay: she prefers to continue with all the guidelines as usual instead of with the new GAV. “I’m really proud of my colleagues that they all pull together with me,” says L.
Now the old GAV continues to apply.
The papers trade union, which negotiated the new GAV with the Swiss, also had to accept the defeat. “With 65 per cent no, the result is extremely clear,” says spokesman Jörg Berlinger to 20 minutes. kapers would have determined the members’ interests in surveys before the start of the negotiations.
According to Berlinger, some of the most important goals that kapers has been pursuing for decades could have been achieved with the GAV23. “We will have to analyze the result and the exact reasons for the rejection,” he says. The scope for further negotiations between the social partners is an issue. “Now it’s time to knock off the sawdust and make the best of the no,” says Berlinger.
