Emmanuel Macron’s government is reported to have backed down after the National Union of Air Traffic Controllers threatened to call its members out on strike ahead of the Paris Olympics, causing chaos for passengers.
The controllers are said to earn up to £93,000-a-year and often only work 75 per cent of the 32 hours a week, they are contracted for.
There are claims some actually go on holiday or head off skiing when they are scheduled to be working.
One told Le Parisien newspaper he often checked in with colleagues on how busy air traffic was before he set off for a 9am shift- and if it was quiet he went back to bed until 11.
Another said managers didn’t mind so long as people were ‘contactable’ in case of a problem – but added ‘sometimes we’ve found ourselves calling guys who were abroad.’
Officials say the culture contributes to delays. They were looking to change the laissez-fare attitude – but climbed down over threats of a walk-out that would hit thousands heading to the Olympics in July and August.
Staff insist there are always enough people on duty.
They are now expected to get a pay rise of up to £15,500, 18 extra days off a year and retirement at 59 in a deal being seen as a victory for the union.
According to the Times it will cost airlines more than £60 million over the next four years.
It says around a quarter of all flights in France were delayed last year, 24.31 per cent, – still slightly fewer than in the UK, where the proportion of late flights is 25.39 per cent.
Air traffic controllers are not the only workers threatening to strike ahead of the Olympics with industrial relations said to be tense across France.
Unions, including those representing hospital staff, have said they will walk out if the government does not properly compensate people for being forced to work during the summer holidays.
