One of Europe’s biggest airports has reported that its staff won’t return to work without a 20% raise. Many of them suffer from burnout and depression.
Loris Foreman was a ground handling agent at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris. He told Reuters that he and other workers are striking over rising living costs.
Parisian airport workers joined European workers in protest for higher wages. A spokesperson for ADP stated that 10% of flights from the airport were cancelled. Yesterday, France’s aviation authority announced the cancellation of 17% of flights. This was primarily for short-haul routes.
Foreman, who works as a subcontractor for several airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Air Canada, stated that the long hours left him feeling depressed.
Foreman explained to Reuters that if you work odd hours or start at 5 a.m., it can lead to burnout.
After the COVID-19 pandemic in which airlines had to reduce their workforce to meet restrictions, airports in Europe and America are having trouble keeping up with increased demand for travel.
This has caused a number of problems, including London Heathrow turning away passengers from its packed airport and Delta airline workers picketing at hubs throughout the US.
“Airport activity has reached 95% of its pre-COVID levels, except that we now have 20,000 fewer employees at the Roissy(Charles de Gaulle airport), so working conditions deteriorated drastically,” Nicolas Pereira (a striking airport worker with CGT union), told AP.
“The bosses responsible were those who tried to cut labour costs by laying off workers in the COVID period.”
Striking workers such as Pereira and Foreman, who are led by the CGT union, are asking for a $300 euros ($314) monthly raise at Aeroports de Paris.
The Eurozone, which includes France, saw an inflation record of 8.6% in June. Foreman stated that his current monthly salary, 1,770 euros ($1,845), was not sufficient.
Marine Marivel has been a Charles De Gaulle security agent for 18 years. stated to the New York Times that she was spending almost two-thirds ($1,564) of her 1,500 euro ($1,564) monthly take-home salary on rent while rising prices for food and energy quickly decimated the rest. She claimed that staff shortages had increased her workload by nearly two-thirds.
