Strike at Geneva Airport ended - Swissport and VPOD reach agreement; normal work to resume on 13 January

Zurich/Geneva, 12 January 2010 – The delegations from Swissport and the VPOD union reached an agreement this afternoon which brings an end to their industrial dispute at Geneva Airport.  

For the last ten days, some 7% of the workforce of Swissport Geneva have been participating in a strike called by the VPOD union.  All the strikers will return to their workplaces from tomorrow (13 January) morning.

Despite the present extremely difficult business situation within the airline sector (which is seeing billion-dollar aggregate annual losses, consolidations and extensive dismissals), Swissport continues to strive to be a sound and reliable partner to both its employees and its airline customers. With this objective in mind, Swissport Geneva has agreed to seek a balanced solution and to resolve the present industrial conflict as quickly as possible – not least in the interests of all users of Geneva Airport. 

 
The agreement reached between Swissport and the VPOD, which will be valid for the next two years, consists primarily of the following points:

- a CHF 40 monthly salary increase for all employees in all areas;

- an additional CHF 100 monthly allowance for all ramp, baggage sorting and cargo personnel, in recognition of their work’s particular physical exertions and demands;

- increases in the allowances for irregular working hours.

Swissport will now seek to offset the additional (and unexpected) financial expense which the above agreement entails by adopting further innovative and flexible solutions, while consistently ensuring that such actions have no adverse effect on the quality of the products and services it provides for its customer airlines.

Swissport would like to offer its particular thanks to its loyal personnel for the skill, professionalism and commitment with which they have handled this difficult situation over the past ten days.

Swissport International Ltd., which is owned by Spanish-based Ferrovial, one of the world’s leading infrastructure and service corporations, provides ground services for over 70 million passengers and 3.5 million tonnes of cargo a year on behalf of some 650 client companies. With its workforce of around 32 000 personnel, Swissport is active at 179 airports in 38 countries on five continents, and generated consolidated operating revenue of CHF 1.9 billion (EUR 1.25 billion or USD 1.9 billion) in 2008. www.swissport.com / www.ferrovial.com