Members of Parliament do not have a good word for the KLM pilots who do not want to sign the additional conditions to secure the state aid of 3.4 billion euros in cheap loans.
“The future of KLM is at stake and with it the future of tens of thousands of jobs,” said PvdA MP Henk Nijboer on Tuesday during Question Time.
“With the attitude of the pilots who only think about their own advantages, their own top salaries, but have lost sight of the broad social importance, we will not get there”, according to the PvdA member.
The pilots, who are the only group of employees within KLM that do not agree with the agreements set by the cabinet as a condition for the support, have “completely lost their way”, according to Nijboer.
The irritation was shared wall-to-wall. “80 percent of a top salary is still better than unemployment benefits,” said VVD member Roald van der Linde. DENK’s Farid Azarkan: “This is a middle finger to taxpayers.”
Hoekstra: ‘Measures are non-negotiable’
Monday evening made the FNV known to agree with the conditions set by the cabinet for government support. Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Finance) wants the agreements, which largely consist of wage sacrifices, to apply as long as the aid of the state. That’s likely for the next five years.
Of the eight unions involved in the talks with the KLM management, only the VNV pilots union has not yet signed. The largest contribution is asked of them, as this group of employees earns the most.
According to VNV and FNV, the term requirement was only added at the very last moment, while an agreement had already been reached with the KLM management at the beginning of October. Hoekstra contradicts that. Since the summer, the cabinet has been advocating that the amended terms of employment last at least as long as the government support. “This package is non-negotiable”, Hoekstra repeated in the Chamber on Tuesday.
All scenarios for the future of KLM are on the table
Slowly but surely, the question now arises of what will happen if the pilots do not agree and Hoekstra then insists that the support will not come. Nijboer has already noted that KLM is already technically bankrupt and that it probably will not stay with this rescue package.
“In this crisis that is so disruptive to society, all the scenarios that we could not possibly have thought of a year ago are on the table,” Hoekstra answered when asked what would happen if the support was canceled. “We hope that Schiphol can once again fulfill the vital hub function it had in the past.”
Against the backdrop of the corona crisis, there are always concerns about sister company Air France. Since the merger of the two companies, quarrels and outspoken mistrust have regularly been on the streets. Reason for the PVV to ask the cabinet whether KLM cannot be separated from Air France.
“In marital terms, you have the taste of marriage, the taste of the LAT relationship and the taste of a divorce,” said Hoekstra. “By definition, in this crisis you have to explore all options. It is not always rose scent and moonshine.”
For the time being, Hoekstra thinks the current form in which both companies are in a holding company, but steer their own course “probably the most sensible”.
But, he adds, “That’s not a statement for eternity.”
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