On Wednesday Cargolux Airlines International S.A and trade unions OGB-L and LCGB announced that they have formally concluded and signed an extension agreement of the Collective Work Agreement (CWA).

An official company statement says :

"The extension of the terms and conditions of the above CWA applies retroactively from 1 January, 2011 and expires on 31 December of the present year. In addition, the parties have signed a second agreement on measures that are required to support and strengthen a comprehensive company-wide action plan after a difficult year 2011 and in the face of challenging conditions in the air cargo markets.

It has been agreed to establish a Follow-up Committee that will monitor the situation of the company and meet on a regular basis in order to review and discuss additional measures to be implemented in the event of a further deterioration of the economic environment in 2012."

In normal English this means that no new staff will be taken on during 2012, all promotions are being canceled as well. On top of this, employees won't be paid their beloved 13th month's salary in full at the end of 2012 but will see a part of it paid out in April 2013. Holidays and overtime are being reduced too.

All in all, these measures are supposed to save Cargolux 1,6m € in 2012.