French air traffic controllers cancel Friday strike and declare ‘Olympic truce’.
France’s main union of air traffic controllers has agreed not to call strike action until both the Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted by Paris are finished in September 2024 – including calling off a strike planned for Friday.
The so-called “Olympics Truce” by the SNCTA union had been announced earlier by Transport Minister Clement Beaune after conciliation meetings that also saw the lifting of a strike notice for Friday, September 15th.
The agreement provides for “an increase in compensation”, “a commitment to an Olympics truce until September 2024” and the principle of new salary discussions at this deadline, one of the national secretaries of the SNCTA told AFP, asking not to be identified by name.
Beaune earlier hailed “the commitment made by unions to avoid any social movements during the current and upcoming major sporting events of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
The lifting of the September 15th strike action would also allow the ongoing Rugby World Cup to “proceed smoothly”, Beaune said.
Strike action by French air traffic controllers could play havoc with the travel plans of the participants and thousands of foreign visitors expected to converge on Paris for the Games.
The agreement with the SNCTA does not mean that other air traffic controllers unions cannot call strikes before or during the Olympics – but the SNCTA is the largest union and therefore has the potential to cause the most disruption.
Earlier calls by regional politicians for a ban on strikes during the Olympics were rejected as unconstitutional.