Europe: Airline Signs Deal but Not with the Big Unions

The Dutch airline, KLM, is in dispute with the two largest unions in the Netherlands, despite signing a deal with three smaller union groupings.

The dispute relates to KLM’s 14,000 ground staff, whose unions have been pressing for a new agreement for months. Plans to put pressure on the company with a 24-hour strike in June and an eight-hour strike in July were both overturned by the courts.

Last month, KLM signed a deal—but not with the Netherlands’ two largest unions, the FNV and CNV. Instead, agreement was reached with three much smaller bodies: NVLT, which represents flight technicians; VKP, which only operates in KLM; and De Unie, most of whose members are more senior staff.

The agreement, which runs for 22 months from 1 March 2025 to 31 December, provides for a 1% increase on 1 October 2025 and a further 1.25% from 1 July 2026. There is also a one-off payment of €750 (around £650) plus other improvements. However, with inflation at 2.8% in August and negotiated wage increases running at 5.4% in the three months to June, the bigger unions say this is not enough.

KLM says the three smaller unions represent more than half the unionised staff and has called on FNV and CNV to join the deal. The FNV in turn called the company’s action “a full-blown declaration of war” and, with the CNV, organised a two-hour stoppage on 10 September, with more planned.