SWISS’s cabin personnel will be working under a new collective labour agreement (CLA) from 1 January 2024. The members of the kapers cabin crew union have approved the proposed new CLA by referendum by a 79,1-per-cent majority. The new agreement marks the final milestone in SWISS’s post-corona recovery, and lays a sound foundation for a successful future. The new CLA provides SWISS’s cabin crew members with various improvements in both monetary and quality-of-life terms. SWISS will invest a total of CHF 200 million in the benefits concerned over the next five years.

The members of the kapers cabin crew union have approved by referendum the proposed new CLA24 collective labour agreement for the cabin personnel of Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS). With a voter turnout of 87,6 per cent, 79,1 per cent of the referendum votes cast were in favour of the CLA’s acceptance. SWISS and kapers had reached agreement on the new CLA at the beginning of November. In addition to salary increases, CLA24 provides numerous improvements in cabin crew members’ working terms and conditions, and better addresses the individual needs of the SWISS cabin crew corps of some 3,500 employees.

“I am delighted that CLA24 has been approved by the members of kapers, and by such a substantial majority,” says SWISS CEO Dieter Vranckx. “This positive referendum result confirms to us that our new collective labour agreement for our cabin personnel lays a sound foundation on which we can build and shape a successful shared future. For us at SWISS, this agreement also marks the final milestone in our post-corona recovery. And under the benefits it brings, we’ll be investing a total of some CHF 200 million in our cabin crew corps over the next five years. Our cabin staff make a huge contribution to our company’s success. So I’m all the more pleased that, with our new CLA, we can now tangibly improve their working terms and conditions.”

Higher salaries, greater plannability and more individual choice

Under the new CLA24, all SWISS cabin crew members will have their full-time basic monthly salary raised by CHF 400. The new CLA also incorporates a two-per-cent inflation-based salary increase and higher expenses rates. In addition, from their third year of service onwards, cabin crew members can choose to receive either a variable compensation component that is linked to SWISS’s business results or a guaranteed partial (and later full) 13^th monthly salary payment. And in a further innovation, standby duties are now also remunerated.

In addition to monetary improvements, SWISS is also investing in the quality of life of its cabin crew members under the new CLA. Their monthly duty rosters will now be published one week earlier, on the 18^th of the previous month, to help them better plan their social lives. They will also be assigned seven fixed free days in each monthly roster. The time within which standby staff are required to report for duty if necessary has also been increased. And CLA24 further offers new part-time working models, such as models tailored to parents’ or students’ needs.