...and from the BALPA website:-
NEWS from BALPA
British Airline Pilots’ Association
Tuesday 20 June 2006
UK BASED KLM PILOTS VOTE MASSIVELY FOR STRIKE ACTION
In what is the most decisive result in a trade union strike ballot, UK based KLM pilots who are employed through the UK company ‘KLCuk’, a UK-based operator, owned by the giant Dutch airline KLM, voted 128 to nil for strike action against the company on the grounds of discrimination.
Compared to their KLM mainline colleagues, the KLCuk pilots have been treated as second class citizens, suffered enforced rebasing from one base to another (to completely different areas in the UK), threatened with detrimental changes to their pension scheme, refused promotion, endured continuous and routine breaking of agreements and were told that if they did not attend harmonisation training to harmonise their cockpits with their KLM mainline colleagues then they would be sacked.
‘This is a long and pretty awful story of a loyal and professional workforce being badly treated’ Jim McAuslan, General Secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) explained ‘The problems began when KLCuk pilots found themselves in limbo after KLM took over what was AirUK, a very successful British airline with over 500 pilots in 1998, four years later KLM split the company in two – rebranding them as KLCuk (which would operate feeder routes in and out of Amsterdam) and a new low frills airline, Buzz.’
‘The pilots were told they could fly with Buzz or with KLCuk. Those staying with KLCuk could, if they wish, transfer to KLM mainline but they had to do so immediately, resign from KLCuk and begin with KLM, as a new starting entrant to the airline (with certain protections). If they did not transfer they would then be working alongside KLM colleagues on much better terms and conditions and with a much improved career ahead of them.
But even that option was snatched from them when “out of the blue” everything changed when KLM had shut off the once only option of moving to KLM mainline and subsequently selling off Buzz to Ryanair. To top it all an agreement was reached by KLM, with other parties that would reduce the number of UK pilots flying for KLCuk by 28 a year starting in 2002.
‘BALPA has been trying to find a long lasting solution to this problem rather than the salami slicing that has been a hallmark of the management approach. We have suggested to the company that they are wasting the huge talent that makes up the KLCuk pilot workforce; the remaining pilots have in excess of a combined 1,600 years of service for the KLM group. We have suggested the discrimination can be ended by offering the opportunity to transfer to KLM mainline on fair and reasonable terms and conditions. But the suggestions have fallen on deaf ears and, as this massive vote strike action shows, the pilots’ patience has now run out.’
Pilots are resolute in their determination to achieve fairness and to halt the discrimination. They are resolute also in their belief that a negotiated solution is the best way ahead. We will only take the action authorised by this ballot if we are left with no alternative.
‘We are pleased that ACAS is now involved and we look forward to meetings this week. But this may now be too late and prolonging an already delayed situation is not something we will accept. By law, any industrial action must begin within 28 days of 16 th June. The clock is ticking.’
Jim McAuslan added that the move to trans-national airlines would throw up similar challenges for managements across Europe. It does not bode well for the Air France/KLM group merger when a few hundred UK based pilots cannot be dealt with fairly by KLM