“An increase in wages which is, without a doubt, at the top of the results obtained by Swiss unions.” Union secretary at the SSP, Jamshid Pouranpir can boast: the salary increases won by the approximately 700 cabin employees of Easyjet Switzerland, based in Geneva and Basel, are exceptional.
The list of advances is long. For the fixed part, it includes obtaining a 13th salary (i.e. an increase of 8.3%) and indexation to the cost of living. For the variable part, it will increase by approximately 30% over three years, i.e. an increase of 10% per year until 2027. In addition, seniority will now be recognized, via a system with seven levels. Finally, professional pension provision is improved (18% contributions from age 45 instead of age 55).
Jamshid Pouranpir explains that at Easyjet, the fixed salary portion is currently around “3500-3600 francs”. With the variable part, “an employee can earn 5000, even 5500 francs per month”. These bonuses, explains the unionist, depend on the number of flights carried out and their distance. “Marrakech, for example, is better paid than Nice or London, in order to encourage employees to fly.”
“This story dates back to July,” explains the trade unionist. He explains that he has noticed, “since Covid, an increased combativeness among workers. Generation Z, 20-27 year olds, have arrived on the job market. They have more direct, more radical manners, even if they are not always very well organized.” He judges that “the exceptional mobilization of personnel organized by the SSP is the only explanation for this major social progress”.
Finally, he underlines that “the management of Easyjet came close to a strike during the holidays”. However, as he supposes, “the strikes at the airport and Dnata left their mark”. As a reminder, in June 2023, Cointrin employees stopped working and obtained the freezing of a contested salary overhaul. And in December of the same year, Dnata employees went on strike to obtain a collective labor agreement.
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“The best paid in Europe”
“Today, it must be said, the remuneration of Easyjet employees in Switzerland is at the top of all European companies, excluding long haul,” estimates Jamshid Pouranpir. The trade unionist puts forward three explanations: it is a company listed on the stock exchange, “which therefore cannot afford social conflict”; its Swiss base is “one of the most profitable in its network, due to the low airport taxes practiced in Basel and Geneva”; and “his boss is in tune with what is happening on the ground”.
Easyjet praises social dialogue
Easyjet Switzerland confirms the conclusion of an agreement concerning its cabin crew based in Geneva and Basel, i.e. 750 of its 1,100 employees. The company judges that “this agreement is part of the continuity of the social dialogue in place at Easyjet”. It emphasizes that its staff is under contract under Swiss law, claims to offer “competitive remuneration packages”, and says “it ensures that its crews are trained according to the best standards in the sector”.
