KLM has confirmed that all eight of its trade unions have now agreed to a commitment clause that all KLM employees would be making towards the airline’s cost-reduction efforts, clearing the way for the Dutch government to release the €3.4 billion loan package, consisting of a government loan and guarantees on bank loans until 2025.
KLM stated that it is in the “midst of the worst crisis in its 101-year history” and that the loan package is “crucial to securing the future of the airline and its network for the Netherlands”.
KLM notes that the ascent of all eight of its trade unions is the results of months of negotiations on the details of its austerity program. “The outcomes of these negotiations have been formalised in outline collective labour agreements and incorporated as such into the restructuring plan that KLM submitted to the Dutch Government on 1 October. The outline agreements define the austerity measures that will apply until early 2022 (for cockpit crews) and late 2022 (for ground and cabin personnel).”