Cargolux and unions sign collective agreement

(CS) Luxembourg freight airline Cargolux and labour unions LCGB and OGBL signed an extension to the collective work agreement on Thursday, marking a successful end to months-long negotiations.

The collective agreement will be valid retroactively from January 1 this year until December 31, 2014.

It largely re-instates the collective agreement terminated by Cargolux in September 2012. Until the end of the 2014, unions and the airline will now have to negotiate terms for a future agreement. It is assumed that Cargolux will want to address productivity and efficiency issues for ground staff and crew.

“The real work begins now,” commented Aloyse Kapweiler of the LCGB.

Cargolux meanwhile said in a statement that “the extension agreement contributes towards securing the long term financial sustainability of the airline,” which recorded a recovery in the first half of 2013, with a 13 percent increase in tonnage compared to the same time last year.