Air France unions press pay demands ahead of works council

Air France-KLM’s French unions reiterated demands for a 5.1% pay increase on Monday without calling any immediate resumption of strike action, as the airline group awaits the arrival of a new CE. A cross-union grouping behind earlier strikes that led to the May resignation of the last CEO, Jean-Marc Janaillac, vowed after a meeting on Monday to maintain its core demand on pay. But it stopped short of calling for renewed action. A joint declaration will be delivered to management at the next scheduled works council meeting on Thursday, the unions said, without referring to industrial action. “We remain mobilised to defend our demands,” they said. Air France-KLM’s new CEO, Air Canada second-in-command Ben Smith, is expected to begin his new job next month. Smith, who becomes the first foreign boss in Air France’s 85-year history, steps into a minefield of labour tensions that led to weeks of strikes earlier this year.<br/>