Labor unions and workers have criticized Air Franceâ„¢s reform package, comparing it to the governmentâ„¢s austerity measures, Press TV reports.
Å“The budget cuts have begun. For every worker that is retiring or giving up his job, no new workers are being hired. This was started by the previous government and now Air France and the Paris Airport are doing the same to us,” said Serge Nybelen, general secretary of CGT (General Confederation of Labor) in Roissy.
Advocates also blamed the government of French President Francois Hollande for failing to heed the demands of labor unions.
Å“Our objective with the management as well as with the government is to set up a tug-of-war. We helped change the government last year and now this government is becoming a disaster. It has no answers to our demands so we are going to fight,” Nybelen added.
Experts said the reform package threatens to cut about 10,000 jobs, among them cabin crewmembers and ground staff.
They warned that the job cut plan would deteriorate working conditions which have left employees stressed out.
Meanwhile, representatives of Air France said the reform package aims at modernizing an already stagnate air travel sector by improving its performance on short and medium haul routes.
In January 2012, the airline, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM, presented a vast restructuring plan called Å“Transform 2015,” in which it set aside 471 million euros (USD 610 million) to cover costs related to cutting its workforce to increase productivity.
The airline, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM, has failed to compete with low-cost operators as the number of airlines in the Middle East and Asia is on the rise.
GMA/KA
This article originally appeared on: Press TV