All 1,400 staff at Luxembourg-based freight airline Cargolux are to receive an advance bonus of €2,500, a figure that should be doubled in May 2018 Archive/Mike Zenari

All 1,400 staff at Luxembourg-based freight airline Cargolux are to receive an advance bonus of €2,500, a figure that should be doubled in May 2018 Archive/Mike Zenari

According to radio 100,7, annual profit for 2017 is expected to be higher than in 2016 when the firm recorded €4.6 million.

In May 2018, the bonus given to staff is expected to be doubled, a “gesture that management appreciates their staff,” according to Luxembourg union OGBL’s secretary Hubert Hollerich, speaking to Paperjam. Another union, LCGB was, however, less happy about the bonuses, saying they should not distract from the difficulties the company is facing.

“The new strategy put in place by management is to pay staff off. Whether in terms of tonnage or the number of flights, the figures are up in 2017. But this premium does not address the major problems faced by Cargolux, namely the lack of personnel and difficulties in recruiting suitable personnel,” LCGB general secretary Paul de Araujo told Paperjam.

He hopes to see the same generosity as shown with bonuses in the next collective working agreement, which must be drawn up for 31 December 2018.