EurECCA, along with other key airline, pilots and cabin crew organisations, joins the EU’s Aviation’s Summit call for decent social conditions for airline staff throughout Europe.Working conditions for cabin crew are becoming increasingly grim, with the issuing of dodgy atypical contracts to keep costs down, becoming the norm. These ‘creative’ employment contracts have been made possible as a result of interpretations of legal gaps and grey areas in the EU and national legislation.
EurECCA, along with other key airline, pilots and cabin crew organisations, joins the EU’s Aviation’s Summit call for decent social conditions for airline staff throughout Europe.
Working conditions for cabin crew are becoming increasingly grim, with the issuing of dodgy atypical contracts to keep costs down, becoming the norm. These ‘creative’ employment contracts have been made possible as a result of interpretations of legal gaps and grey areas in the EU and national legislation. It is high time for change and we ask decision-makers to take account of the measures proposed in the joint statement by airlines and employees and speed up the European ‘Social Agenda’ for aviation.
The main issues that are the cabin crew represented by EurECCA wish to address are the following:
- Clarification on the definition of Home Base for crew and guarantee that pilots and cabin crew are covered by the local labour and social security law of the country where they are based;
- Explicit limits on atypical employment for cabin crew– such as broker agency or zero- hour contracts – and to undertake legislative changes;
Only last week, EU Employment Commissioner Thyssen said that the “Single Market is not a jungle and there are clear rules that govern it”. EurECCA welcomes this strong statement and is looking forward to concrete measures to swiftly:
- enforce existing EU & national legislation by all Member States,
- clarify current rules,
- clarify legislative changes to certain provisions of the current EU legal framework,
Once implemented this will:
- prevent the misuse and fraudulent use of Social Security Certificates (A1 ‘portable certifi- cates’ – for the purpose of posting of workers)
- prevent the use of systematic quasi-permanent atypical employment forms for safety- critical personnel
- embed social protection in this economic market regulation in case of a revision of EU Regulation 1008/2008,
- ensure minimal social standards for air crew working on board of foreign carriers
The call for action comes as several European Member States signed a Joint Declaration, urging the EU Commission to present concrete and effective measures by end of 2018. “The Social Agenda in Aviation – Towards Socially Responsible Connectivity” has been signed by the Ministers of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It draws attention to recurrent problems linked to the multiplication of operational bases, crew recruitment through agencies, bogus self-employment and other atypical forms of employment, warning against social dumping, rule-shopping, unfair practices and an uneven playing field
About EurECCA
Established in Brussels in 2014, the European Cabin Crew Association, EurECCA, represents, protects and develops the rights and needs of cabin crew all over Europe. It is composed of cabin crew unions from European Union Member States as well as accession and bordering states and represents some 35,000 cabin crew accounting for 70% of all organised cabin crew in Europe. EurECCA has no political connections.
EurECCA’s work is mainly around cabin and passenger safety and cabin crew health and work and living conditions.
EurECCA represents, protects and develops the rights and needs of cabin crew all over Europe
