The Netherlands: Security staff strike threatens Amsterdam Schiphol operations

Royal Schiphol Group, operator of Amsterdam Schiphol, has said that the two sides in an ongoing industrial dispute at the airport must get together “with extreme urgency” to avert a threatened 24-hour strike. Two unions representing security staff have informed the Group that they intend to take industrial action Sept. 4, after failing to reach agreement with their third-party employers over improvements to salaries and working conditions. The security staff have been staging brief, 15-minute stoppages over the past six weeks, said the FNV Security and CNV Professional unions, but these have failed to achieve any results. FNV director Mohamed Gafki said the union had been in contact with the airport’s operators to alert them to the proposed withdrawal of labor, “because a 24-hour strike has consequences for the airport and air traffic. Agreements can now be made to arrange things properly. Travelers can be informed in time, tickets [can be] rebooked, flights cancelled, and so on.” A Schiphol spokesperson said Monday that it was still uncertain what the precise effect of a 24-hour walkout on the airport would be and it was studying several scenarios. The airport was “considering its legal options with regard to the CNV and FNV trade union’s announcements.” <br/>