French airport unions call for strike a week before the Olympic Games in Paris

Unions representing workers at Paris airports said on Monday 8 July that they had called a strike in the week before the Paris Olympics over a dispute over staff bonuses. The CGT, CFDT, FO and UNSA unions called a strike on 17 July – nine days before the start of the Paris Games – to demand that all employees receive an Olympic bonus, condemning “unilateral decisions by the management to pay a bonus only to part of the staff”.

Unions at the state-controlled Groupe ADP, which operates Paris’ main airports, Charles de Gaulle and Orly, had already called a strike on May 19, but it caused no major disruption. The two airports will be the main gateway to France for foreign visitors to the Olympics. Up to 350,000 people are expected to be there daily during the Games, as well as most of the athletes and their equipment. Thousands of athletes are expected to arrive on July 18, when the athletes’ village opens. A new, temporary oversized baggage terminal at Charles de Gaulle will handle equipment such as kayaks, bicycles and pole vault poles.

Unions representing public sector workers in France have been demanding extra pay or support for working during the Paris Olympics from July 26 to August 11, which fall during France’s traditional summer time. Police officers, air traffic controllers, garbage collectors, government employees, subway and train drivers and firefighters have all made their demands, and their employers are under pressure to give in to avoid disruption.