Air France raises pay offer in bid to end strikes

Air France said on Tuesday it had raised its pay offer to unions in a bid to end strikes that have already cost the airline E170m. The carrier, which is part of Air France-KLM, doubled the 1% immediate pay increase previously offered to unions and proposed talks on a deal for the 2019-21 period in response to their demands for a 6% wage hike. Air France is facing a seventh day of strikes on Wednesday in a six-week campaign that has coincided with rolling nationwide rail strikes, as SNCF workers protest against plans to reform the state-owned railway.<br/>