civil aviation

The European Commission is preparing a new Aviation Strategy for Europe at a critical moment for the sector. For ETF, this initiative cannot become another exercise focused solely on market liberalisation and competitiveness at the expense of workers. Instead, it must mark a change of course. Years of deregulation, cost-driven competition, and insufficient social safeguards have weakened the sector’s resilience, undermined fair competition, and placed increasing pressure on aviation workers. The new strategy therefore represents an opportunity to correct this trajectory and build an aviation industry that is competitive, sustainable, and socially responsible.

After several weeks of intense negotiations and global action, the Lufthansa Group answered union calls to stop using the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel, where workers are on strike, for layover accommodation for their crews. USA union UNITE HERE and the German union ver.di, both affiliates of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), have been working with the ITF to ask airlines to avoid struck hotels and not compel their crews to cross picket lines.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) affiliate ver.di has secured an historic collective agreement, including improved wages and working conditions for over 30,000 employees at major German airports following strike action earlier this week. This historic agreement sets a precedent by replacing numerous individual agreements and sets a new standard for the industry.

Last week, aviation week was held at the ETF, where we gathered our members from JAC, GSC and ATM Committees in Brussels for their specific sector meetings, the Civil Aviation Section meeting, and the Civil Aviation Sectoral Social Dialogue.

One month after the ETF’s largest-ever conference dedicated to aviation workers, the Civil Aviation Section (CAS) members approved a statement presenting workers’ critical demands for the sector to move forward after the 2022 summer crisis while recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The transition to a more sustainable aviation sector will impact workers and trade unions are demanding concrete measures to ensure a just transition and a fair transformation of the sector which is inclusive and maintains and creates decent jobs.

It is utterly unacceptable for Brussels Airlines to use such a dirty attack against its own workers. There seems to be no limit in the company's threats to put the cost of a strike they are legally entitled to organise on the worker's shoulders