Airport worker unions call for strike week before Olympics

Unions representing workers at Paris' airports have said they had called for a strike the week before the Paris Olympics over a dispute about bonuses for staff.

The CGT, CFDT, FO and UNSA unions called the strike on July 17, nine days before the start of the Paris Games, to demand that all staff receive an Olympics bonus, denouncing "unilateral decisions from the chief executive to pay a bonus to only some personnel."

Unions at state-controlled Groupe ADP, which runs Paris' main airports Charles de Gaulle and Orly, had previously called a strike on May 19, which did not cause major disruption.

The two airports will be the main gateways into France for foreign visitors to the Olympics, with up to 350,000 people expected to transit there daily, as well as most athletes and their equipment.

Competitors are expected to begin arriving in large numbers from July 18, when the athletes' village opens, with a new temporary over-sized baggage terminal at Charles de Gaulle set up to handle equipment such as kayaks and bikes.

Unions representing workers across the public sector in France have demanded extra pay or support for having to work over the July 26-Aug.11 Games, which fall during the traditional summer holiday in France.

As well as company-wide bonuses, the ADP unions want a "massive" recruitment plan for 1,000 extra staff and a guarantee that they can take holidays during the Olympics, which run from July 26-August 11, followed by the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.

Police, air traffic controllers, rubbish collectors, central government employees, metro and train drivers as well as firefighters have all made pay demands ahead of the Olympics, with bosses under pressure to yield to avoid disruption.