Air France is the biggest air hose in France. The company is portion of the Air France-KLM Holding listed at the stock exchanges of Paris and New York and a founding member of the SkyTeam Airline Alliance. Founded on Oct 7, 1933 through a amalgamation of four Gallic companies, the air hose from the beginning on was at least 25 % state-owned. In 1945, it became to the full state-owned. Based at le Bourget airdrome in the beginning, the air hose moved its place base to the new Charles de Gaulle airdrome in 1974. Air France ‘s history includes some innovator discoveries such as the first flight from Paris to New York in less than 20 hours in 1946 or the debut of the Concorde supersonic aircraft in 1976. In add-on, Air France bought several other Gallic air hoses in the class of its history.
In 1994, the ‘Groupe Air France ‘ consisting of Air France and three other Gallic air hoses was created. The twelvemonth 1999 saw a partial denationalization of the group. In 2000, Air France together with Delta Airlines, Aeromexico and Korean Air formed a planetary air hose confederation called SkyTeam. Four old ages subsequently, on Jun 20, 2004, Air France merged with the Dutch air hose KLM although the two companies stayed independent until 2008 and will go on to maintain their single corporate individualities. In 2009, the latest aircraft, the A380, was introduced to the fleet.
Based at Paris ‘ Charles de Gaulle airdrome, the corporate fleet ( including eight subordinates ) presently comprises 410 aircraft and serves more than 183 finishs in 92 states. Thereby, Air France utilizes an extended feeder web to let the best possible connexions to hanker haul flights. The company employs 74.320 people whereas the full keeping offers more than 100.000 workplaces in different working countries. Of these 74.320 employees, 5.519 are cockpit crews, 16.209 are cabin crews and 52.592 work land handling or the company direction. 11.310 of these employees have a valid working contract with one of Air France ‘s subordinates ( Air France-KLM Group, 2008 ) .
Labor dealingss Actors at Air France
Air France ‘s 74.320 employees are represented by non less than 19 brotherhoods. Ground managing staff is represented by the General Confederation of Labor ( Confederation general du parturiency, CGT ) , the Gallic Democratic Confederation of labour ( Confederation francaise democratique du parturiency, CFDT ) , the General Confederation of Labor-Force Ouvriere ( Confederation generale du travail – Force Ouvriere, CGT-FO ) , the Gallic Christian Workers Confederation ( Confederation francaise Delaware travailleurs chretiens, CFTC ) and the Gallic Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff-General Confederation of Professional and Managerial Staff ( Confederation francaise de l’encadrement-Confederation generale diethylstilbestrols cells, CFE-CGC ) . In add-on, SUD-aerien which is an affiliate to Solidarity, Unity, Democracy ( Solidaire, Unitaire, Democratique, SUD ) , the National Federation of independent brotherhoods ( Union national diethylstilbestrols syndicats liberties, UNSA ) every bit good as the National Union of Civil Aviation ground-based mechanics, SNMSAC ) represent Air France ‘s employees working on land.
Cabin Crews are represented by the Union of Civil Aviation Cabin Crew ( Union des Navigant de l’aviation civile, UNAC ) and the national Union of Commercial Cabin Crew ( Syndicat National de Personnel Navigant Commerciaux, SNPNC ) every bit good as, in sub-departments, the general brotherhoods mentioned supra. There are particular brotherhoods for proficient cabin crew, i.e. pilots and mechanics. These include the National pilots Union ( Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne, SNPL ) , the Civil Aviation Pilot ‘s Union ( Syndicat des pilotes de l’Aiation Civile, SPAC ) , the National Union of Civil Aviation Cabin Engineering Officers ( Syndicat National des Officiers Mecaniciens Navigant de l’Aviation Civile, SNOMAC ) , the Air France Pilot ‘s Union ( Syndicat des Pilotes d’Air France, SPAF ) , the National Union of Civil Aeronautics Cabin Crew ( Syndicat National du Personnel Navigant de l’Aeronautique Civile, SNPNAC ) and Alter ( Grimmault,2005 ) .
In entire, there are 11 brotherhoods for employees working on land and eight brotherhoods for flight crews. Six Unions represent over 80 % of all the Commercial Cabin Crew ( USA Today, 2007 ) .
The Labor Relations History of Air France
As Air France offers a describable history of more than 76 old ages and as the same would be the instance for labour dealingss, this chapter will get down with events of the 1990s. During that clip, Air France was in terrible economic battle and needed to follow rigorous restructuring steps in order to avoid speedy bankruptcy. Unfortunately, future alterations presented in 1993 included the loss of at least 4.000 occupations. Naturally, this was non appreciated by the employees who expressed their sentiment through digesting industrial actions ( Air France Unions, 1994 ) . Consequential, the direction assured to show an updated restructuring program which was approved by more than 80 % of the work force in a secret ballot. Remarkable may be the fact that the updated understanding cited more than 5.000 occupation redundancies. However, in contrast to the first bill of exchange, these cuts should be achieved through abrasion merely. Most employees agreed with the program in order lessening the possible hazard of insolvency ( Air France Unions, 1994 ) .
Once once more, pilots went on work stoppage once more in class of the twelvemonth 1998. The company ‘s direction wanted to cut their wages by 15 % and interchange them into stock options instead than the old hard currency payments. The pilots called out on work stoppages for nine yearss and made the proclamation that they would be able to go on during the association football universe cup which was held in France in June of that twelvemonth if no understanding would be reached in the leftover clip. Hence, the direction backed out of their demands and declared the stock option to be a voluntary offer being unfastened to each pilot ‘s ain discretion ( Puente, 1998 ) . On the dorsum of this, both parties reached an understanding which fundamentally excluded any future work stoppage activity of pilots ( Air France Pilots ‘ brotherhood, 2001 ) .
However, in October 2001, the pilots brotherhood SPNL revoked the understanding after dialogues about pay additions had failed. SPNL president Facchetti indicated that the brotherhood would return to standard brotherhood proceedings and form work stoppages – which were straight proposed for November and December 2001. There, the pilots wanted to support their claim for a 20 % wage addition towards Air France which was offering 1.6 % merely ( Air France Pilots ‘ brotherhood, 2001 ) . In fact, 2001 had been a disruptive twelvemonth for Air France. The flight attenders of three smaller brotherhoods had started on New Year naming out for a two-day work stoppage against new on the job clip ordinance that would cut down their hebdomadal working clip from 39 to 35 hours.
Queerly plenty, the shortened working hebdomad had been fixed between Air France and several major brotherhoods and was in line with a new authorities jurisprudence called ‘Aubry-law ‘ . Approved by the legislative assembly in 1998, it stated that after January 1, 2000 all companies with more than 20 employees would hold to get down implementing the 35-hours-week ( Zagelmeyer, 2002, p.191 ) . In August 2001, Air France announced that it would use more than 500 employees of former Air Liberte which had to discontinue operations in that month ( Air France employs, 2001 ) . In September, the onslaughts on the universe trade centre in New York led to another tough dialogues period which did non work out a difference over wage addition for pilots in December.
The following twelvemonth came up with a general work stoppage against the proposed denationalization in September ( Air France sale, 2002 ) . The employees feared to give up their privileges once the company was no longer province owned ( Delcambre, 2002 ) . In add-on, the air hose ‘s pilots refused to work for four yearss in September. Thereby, a 17 % pay addition should be enforced. After 10 old ages of back-to-back wage freezings, the pilots objected that it was clip to acquire a portion in the existing company ‘s wealth. These claims were non unjustified since despite the economic crisis and the events of September 11, 2001, Air France continued to stay in black figures ( Air France-KLM Group, 2002, p.11 ) . However, analysts feared that long permanent industrial actions and major pay additions would harm the authorities ‘s programs to cut down the public ownership of Air France from 54.4 % down to 20 % ( Air France work stoppages to go on, 2002 ) . The pilots ‘ work stoppages continued in February 2003 for another four yearss ( Chassany, 2007 ) .
2007 saw a terrible work stoppage as flight attenders were dickering for improved on the job conditions and a presentable addition in wages ( Chassany, 2007 ) . The employees felt that they had been asked for an over relative sum of grants during the ambitious economic state of affairs of old old ages when the company was fighting but were excluded from possible benefits one time Air France reached profitable parts once more. Although the company claimed that the work stoppage was supported by a upper limit of 40 % of the work force, the brotherhoods ‘ dictum saying more than 84 % support could be seen as more realistic. The eight brotherhoods which participated in the industrial actions demanded to increase overtime fillips and to cut down the displacement of cost force per unit areas on cabin crews ( Costello, 2007 ) .
At last, there was another four-day pilot work stoppage in 2008. In fact, the Gallic authorities aimed on increasing the retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65. However, Air France argued that the work stoppage was unneeded since it would stay the personal determination of every pilot whether to retire at 60 or at 65 with everyone retiring at 60 still profiting from the same pension as before ( Air France work stoppage causes pandemonium, 2008 ) .
To reason, the labour dealingss history of Air France has to be summarized as a history of work stoppages but includes several understandings and amalgamate attempts of direction and employees in times of crisis.
Chemical reactions on the fiscal crisis
As a major Western air hose, Air France-KLM was among the first companies to be affected by the fiscal crisis. As travel budgets in companies were distinctively cut, a steep diminution in concern travel was surely inevitable. Air France-KLM felt the first impacts of an on-going crisis in the 3rd one-fourth of the fiscal twelvemonth 2008-09 since the company made the first losingss in the short clip of a combined history. In January 2009, the keeping had to print a net income warning for the financial twelvemonth 2008-09. In March, grave concerns came true as the company published a net loss of a‚¬129 million for the predating financial twelvemonth.
The accrued loss resulted from diminishing concern demand and misguided fuel hedge ( Bostnavaron, 2009 ) . In fact, Air France hedged its fuel manner to expensive and when fuel costs went down once more, the company had to pay 50 % higher monetary values. Furthermore, demand decreased by more than 11 % in rider concern and 23 % in the lading concern. In order to maintain the outputs every bit high as possible, Air France-KLM cut capacity by cut downing the frequences on weak paths ( Air France-KLM Group, 2009, p.8 ) . However, the company did non cut any paths. In rider traffic, proposed cutbacks amounted to more than 4.9 % during the summer extremum season 2009. In the lading concern, the group cut capacity by anchoring several of its lading aircraft and using the belly capacity of rider aircrafts alternatively ( Air France-KLM Group, 2009, p.8 ) .
In add-on, Air France-KLM announced to cut down the volume of investings by a‚¬1.2 billion in 2009. At least a‚¬600 million would be saved in the class of the twelvemonth ( Air France-KLM Virginia supprimer, 2009 ) . Further actions included the delay of purchases of about a twelve planes ( Bostnavaron, 2009 ) .
However, seemingly no nest eggs program can be successful without touching the ain work force. Therefore, Air France introduced a hiring freezing and encouraged its employees to take their one-year vacation or utilize flexible yearss ( Bostnavaron, 2009 ) . In add-on, the work force was reduced by 1.200 in 2008 and will be cut by extra 2.500 to 3.000 employees until 2011 ( Nabot, 2009 ) . Short term contracts and fixed term contracts will non be renewed until 2011. In fact, these occupation cuts were non achieved through compulsory redundancies but instead through natural abrasion. In September 2009, Air France-KLM announced further, constructive nest eggs in the budget. This program amounted for 1.500 voluntary occupation cuts within land and cabin personal excepting the pilots. In most instances, affected employee groups can be found at regional spouses and in the lading section. Second, 4.500 occupations will be cut until 2011. For that ground, employees may claim rupture payments of up to 24 months of rewards ( Amedeo, 2009 ) .
In add-on, CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon announced on July 9, 2009 that might be the possibility that Air France employees would hold to accept short-time work after the terminal of the Gallic summer vacations. However, the President of the Union ‘Force Ouvriere ‘ indicated that it would be hard to implement short-time work at an air hose and blamed the air hose on an effort merely desiring to quiet its shareholders. The president of the brotherhood wanted the Gallic authorities to assist Air France in the same mode as they have already proceeded with Bankss and the car industry ( Mouillard, 2009 ) . With all these steps, Air France expects to once more make profitableness in 2012.
An Introduction to labour dealingss at FedEx Express
A brief debut to FedEx
FedEx Corporation consists out of 10 different companies concentrating on different countries of the forwarding and express, the alleged logistics concern. These sub-companies include FedEx Express, FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground every bit good as less known companies like FedEx SmartPost. However, FedEx Express is the lone company which uses an aviation-based web to transport cargos. Therefore, this essay will cover with FedEx Express merely.
FedEx Express was developed by the FedEx Corporation and renamed from the original Federal Express. The company was founded in 1971 in Little Rock, AR by Frederick W. Smith. However, following the beginning of operations on April 14, 1973, the central offices moved to Memphis, TN where they are still located today. After all, it took two more old ages until the company became profitable in 1975. By this clip, FedEx was a ‘standard compositor ‘ in the worldwide express industry. In 1977, the deregulating of the air lading concern allowed FedEx to run bigger aircraft which may explicate the rapid growing of the company during the 1980s. The developments were manifested by the debut of international operations in 1984 which lead to the first intercontinental flight to Europe in 1985 and to Japan in 1988.
Furthermore, FedEx did non merely turn by spread outing its web but besides by geting other companies offering services found to be complimentary to FedEx ‘s merchandises. These events included the purchase of Evergreen Airlines in 1995 which allowed FedEx to be the lone US-based lading air hose holding official traffic rights for flights to China. Unsurprisingly, the air hose was able to go on its web enlargement. In 1994, the name ‘Federal Express ‘ was officially shortened to ‘FedEx ‘ which had been common sense anyhow. In 2000, the name one time once more changed to FedEx Express in order to separate the ain place in the FedEx Corporation which no longer acted as a pure express company.
With the Acquisition of the British ANC keeping being shortly rebranded into FedEx UK, FedEx started to offer domestic express services within the United Kingdom. In 2007, the debut of a domestic express web in China stood on the docket ( FedEx Corporation, 2007 ) . Yet today, FedEx continues to get domestic express companies in order to spread out its local web options. Presently, FedEx Express has 658 aircraft which serve more than 375 airdromes worldwide and employs at least than 142.000 employees.
Labor Relationss Actors
FedEx Express is about non-unionized. This consequences from the particular position regulating the company under the ‘Railway Labor Act ‘ ( RLA ) of 1926 which was expanded to air hoses in 1936. The RLA was designed to protect the national conveyance system from stultifying work stoppages in local subdivisions. Therefore, if employees governed under this act want to organize a brotherhood, they need a nation-wide bulk of employees voting in favour of this brotherhood, even if merely employees at a certain works experience the demand to unionise ( Nyden, 2009 ) . This might be the ground why merely the 4.400 pilots of the 142.000 FedEx Express employees are unionized. Since, 2004, the pilots are organized within ALPA ( Air Line Pilots Association ) . The Teamsters brotherhood would wish to form FedEx ‘s mechanics and truck drivers but did non acquire nation-wide bulk ballots for their programs up to this point in clip ( Nyden, 2009 ) .
Labor dealingss history
Since FedEx did non acknowledge any brotherhoods before 2004, the history of labour dealingss issues at FedEx Express can be described in short words. Yet, there has been a individual corporate understanding. This understanding was negotiated with the pilots ‘ brotherhood ALPA in a period of about 30 months from 2004 to 2006. The brotherhood recommended their members to vote in favour of the understanding which inside informations were non made unfastened to public ( Bloomberg News, 2006 ) . Since the corporate understanding may end in the following old ages, new dialogues will get down shortly.
Recent labour dealingss issues
The chief labour dealingss issue at these times at FedEx trades with contemplations about a possible alteration of the RLA. The Railway Labor Act “ was originally passed by the U.S. Congress in 1926 to regulate railway labour dialogues and bound economically disabling work stoppages ” which would hold bottle-necked the lone nation-wide conveyance system of that clip ( FedEx Corporation, 2009 ) . In times of increasing importance of air transit, the jurisprudence was expanded to cover major air hoses. The jurisprudence regulations that a bulk of all employees of a company has to vote in favour of a brotherhood. In contrast to the ‘National Labor Relations Act ‘ ( NLRA ) of 1934, it is non possible to let individual brotherhoods being responsible for single workss merely. FedEx was placed under the statute law of the RLA when it was founded in 1971 – due to the fact that the company was meant to run as a lading air hose.
Nowadays, most of FedEx Express ‘ employees work on land with the bulk being truck drivers needed to feed the worldwide express air web. The Teamsters brotherhood would wish to form this land staff in the same manner as they have already succeeded at FedEx ‘s chief rival UPS which is covered by the NLRA. At the minute, it is impossible to present brotherhood representation as all FedEx Express employees are governed under the RLA. Therefore, the Teamsters brotherhood, backed up by UPS, lobbies for a alteration of the RLA that would put most FedEx Express employees under the administration of the NLRA. The House of Representatives has already agreed on an amendment to this jurisprudence that states that merely FAA certified forces will be covered by it ( FedEx Corporation, 2009 ) . However, senate ‘s blessing is still pending.
Naturally, FedEx is buttonholing against this amendment. In instance of an credence of alterations to the jurisprudence, FedEx would shortly confront an unnatural high addition in unionisation among its employees. Therefore, the company claims that although they have no brotherhood for land staff, their truck drivers receive higher payments than those of the rivals like UPS. In add-on, their employees are entitled to extra benefits after merely three months while UPS employees would hold to wait twice every bit long. UPS and the Teamsters brotherhood claim that the opposite instance is true. Therefore, the determination of Congress is awaited with great expectancy.
Chemical reactions to the fiscal crisis
On January 1, 2009, FedEx Corp CEO Frederick W. Smith took a 20 % cut on his ain wages while the entitlements of other senior executives were supposed to diminish by 7.5 % to 10 % . In add-on, there will be a 5 % wage cut for the staying 36.000 United States ‘salary exempt ‘ workers which fundamentally would be any employee with the exclusion of hourly workers, bundle animal trainers, pilots and mechanics. With these steps, FedEx Corp wanted to salvage $ 200 million until the terminal of the financial twelvemonth in May 2009 and another $ 600 million in the following financial twelvemonth ( Bomkamp, 2008 ) . Furthermore, “ FedEx has already begun more than $ 1 billion in cost-saving steps ; including occupation cuts across its FedEx Freight and FedEx Office divisions, a decrease of some workers ‘ hours, riddance of certain fillips and execution of a hiring freezing ” ( Bomkamp, 2008 ) .
In the 2nd one-fourth of the financial twelvemonth 2009-10, the FedEx Corporation already performed good better than expected by analysts and the company direction. The company announced net incomes per portion of $ 1.10 instead than the expected rates of 65 to 90 cents ( Berr, 2009 ) . This consequence is backed on the positive developments of a good cost cutting plan combined with lifting demand for FedEx services, particularly in Asia and Latin America.
To finalise, one may reason that FedEx ‘s crisis direction seems to be successful and lead to a promising hereafter.
Similarities and differences at the two companies
FedEx Express and Air France are two really different companies. However, one may detect several similarities. To get down with, most of import seems to be the fact that both companies are air hoses and run a huge web of finishs. Furthermore, both companies employ a immense work force. However, the two companies have two wholly different concern theoretical accounts ; while Air France focuses on the transit of riders and offers lading as a secondary merchandise, FedEx Express is pure lading bearer transporting express cargos all around the universe. For these express services, FedEx Express needs about twice every bit many employees as Air France. In add-on, FedEx operates 50 % more aircraft and serves twice every bit many finishs. This might be the instance because FedEx – as an international Express bearer – has terminuss and employees in all states served to guarantee its door-to-door service, In contrast, Air France concentrates on the Gallic market and has the bulk of employees based in Paris. Therefore, FedEx Express is surprisingly by far bigger than Air France.
Another difference seems to be the grade of unionisation in the two companies. Although it has much less employees, Air France is extremely nonionized and trades with a batch of different brotherhoods. FedEx, on the other manus, has one brotherhood stand foring merely three per centum of its work force merely. In fact, the company tries to avoid the execution of farther brotherhoods. The absence of brotherhoods prevented FedEx from work stoppages in its full history of about 40 old ages which stands in contrast to Air France that was struck by work stoppages on a regular footing, sometimes even several times per twelvemonth.
However, FedEx and Air France reacted more or less in the same manner during the on-going crisis. In both companies, the work force was reduced and costs were saved whenever it was possible. Though, while FedEx laid workers off, Air France reduced its work force entirely through natural abrasion. Furthermore, senior FedEx direction waived parts of their wages. There have been no wage cuts at Air France so far. In add-on, demand for FedEx services already started to lift once more while rider traffic continues to maroon on a low degree. This should be the ground why FedEx is able to describe 2nd one-fourth net incomes and net incomes per portion that surpass outlooks while Air France is still doing losingss and expects to stay in the ruddy figures until 2012.
To reason, Air France and FedEx have more differences than similarities. While the labour dealingss system of Air France is more employee-friendly, the system of FedEx seems to be the better option when get bying with the current fiscal crisis.
