A Collective Labour Agreement negotiated by SWISS and Swiss Pilots was approved in March by a majority of the members of the SPA but the agreement failed by a narrow margin to gain the approval of the two-thirds majority required by statute. The essential trust required for a social partnership was harmed at that time by Swiss Pilots’ manipulation of the vote. As a consequence, SWISS no longer recognised the social partnership. With the individual contracts of employment that have since been in effect Swiss European continues to live up to its responsibilities as the employer of the Avro pilots and offers them conditions of employment that are in line with the market. These valid contracts enable Swiss European to operate its Avro fleet competitively, even in the tough struggle against low-cost carriers. Over the past 12 months this has also allowed SWISS to expand the Avro fleet by 30 per cent. Job cuts for operational reasons were thus avoided during the restructuring process and the Avro pilots were offered the prospect of a sustained future.
Swiss European is interested in establishing a loyal, future-oriented, trust-based social partnership and is keeping open its existing offer to engage in dialogue with the Avro pilots.