Cargolux staff scores €2,500 bonus in profit-sharing

When it was 2017, it was a very good year. Just in time for the holidays, all employees at the Luxembourg-based all-cargo carrier Cargolux received bonuses of €2,500, with another €2,500 to follow in May 2018, as part of the carrier’s profit-sharing program.

The pay-out to employees is thanks to the expectation of improved 2017 company net revenues in excess of the €4.6 million the airline reported in 2016. Cargolux’s profit-sharing falls under the collective work agreement (CWA) it reached with its three main labor unions in 2015. Cargolux formed the CWA in December 2015 after intensive negotiations with pilot and ground-crew labor unions OGBL, CLSC and LCGB.

The unions said they were generally happy with this bonus, except for LCGB, which remained concerned over what it sees as personnel shortages and difficulties with recruiting new personnel, according to Luxembourg-based news site Paperjam. LCGB general secretary Paul de Araujo told the site that the carrier will need to demonstrate the same generosity when forming the next CWA after the current one expires at the end of 2018.

Meanwhile, OGBL central secretary Hubert Hollerich told Paperjam that the total bonus of €5,000 “is very appreciated by the staff,” and represents a substantial increase to its workers’ annual income.