Dear colleagues, Dear ver.di-Aircrew Alliance members
The Corona pandemic has now effected our private and working lives for an extended period as well as our union activities. At this time it looks as if the risk of infection in much of Europe has decreased and the virus is at least under sufficent enough control to start loosening some of the social restrictions imposed upon us earlier. This is a welcome development even if it comes with comprehensive consequences. The aviation industry is still effected by a multitude of travel restrictions still currently in place and there is still no confirmation of an end to the Kurzarbeit period. However, there are positive signs in that several airlines are planning step for step to resume flying. As yet we are unaware of any plans by easyJet but we are keeping an ear to the ground and are in close contact to the PV as well as the unions in other countries.
The current infighting between our major shareholder Stelios and our AMB is concerning and totally inappropriate in the current climate and we strongly criticise this action. Now more than ever we need to make sure that jobs are secured.
ver.di as well as the DGB unions have achieved a lot from a political perspective in the last weeks. More evidence of how important it is to have large and strong unions speaking on behalf of employees. We’ve had a strong and positive influence on many of the political decisions made recently and including changes to laws and the introduction of rescue packages to the sum of billions of Euros. Without the pressure we have applied there would have been no improvement or increase in Kurzarbeit money, even if we had wished for more. A quick glance towards the future shows us that there are more challenges that lie ahead, united and with solidarity we will rise to the challenge and find answers and solutions.
Further legal changes like the recent improvements made to Elterngeld and second jobs during the Kurzabeit time passed by the legislative authority. During the Kurzarbeit period Elterngeld will not be calculated in the netpay calculation to avoid disadvantages to parents and as of the 1st of May employees with a second job will be able to earn up to that what they earned net prior to the introduction of Kurzarbeit without deductions.
Of course we would also like to keep you informed about some points unique to easyJet:
Previous payslips in the Kurzarbeit period have been riddled with mistakes and many questions have arisen due to this. Together with the PV, we have called upon easyJet to quickly answer these questions and in a transparent way that crew understand. Our employer is definitely obliged to answer these queries and correct any mistakes, they are also required to show how these calculations are made in a way that the employee can comprehend. Should easyJet not sufficiently cooperate in this matter, then legal recourse will have to be taken. ver.di will of course support its members in doing so. Now to the question about TXL, what is happening to the airport? The airports business organisation (Flughafengesellschaft) has requested in April that the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) apply to the Senate Office for temporary permission to be relieved from the obligation of keeping the airport in operation at this time. Because it makes financial sense, the supervisory board agreed to this on the 29th of April so that the request could be officially made. We estimate that it will take the Senate 4-5 weeks to respond. If the Senate decides to accept the request, the supervisory board will then have to engage with other parties who might have a say in the final decision such as the Bund or the Bundesländer Berlin and Brandenburg. They may decide to ask the airport management not to close the airport and may provide coverage of the costs of it remaining open. In short we’ve still no final decision but if TXL was to be closed temporarily, this would unlikely happen before the middle/end of June.
Whether TXL would re-open or not from temporary closure before the official opening of BER depends mainly on how the airline industry develops in the current climate. Of course all TXL based crew can be called to operate out of the SXF base and again we are engaged in information exchanges with the PV on how exactly that will look. After the resumption of operations, focus will be directed at job protection and health and safety. At present ver.di are involved in discussions taking place at national and european union levels and we’re working on our demands in close cooperation with other unions in the easyJet network. Also, due to our TVPV the PV has wide ranging co-determination rights that it can make use of in Germany.
Dear Colleagues,
We are and will continue to stay on the ball with these subjects. Your problems and questions will continue to receive our upmost attention and we will endeavour to answer them as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our usual channels like „Luftfahrt.bb“-Email-Address and our ver.di-Mitgliedernetz will remain open for you as always. We will also soon be able to offer you our ver.di tax return service again.
Together we are a proud and strong union and we thank you for your continued support and solidarity.
Your TK´s
