Story ID: 
NetJets Europe in French Labor suit
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: NetJets Europe has been summoned to appear at the Court of Bobigny, near  Paris, on December 2, after three entities–French charter operator  lobbying grou
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NetJets Europe has been summoned to appear at the Court of Bobigny, near  Paris, on December 2, after three entities–French charter operator  lobbying group Scara, French crew retirement fund CRPN and one pilot  union–sued the fractional ownership company over alleged noncompliance  with French labor laws. They charge that the flight crews of foreign  countries working under foreign contracts are not contributing to  France’s labor coffers. The plaintiffs claim that NetJets Europe does  not abide by a November 2006 decree that defines an “operating base” as  the place where a pilot or a cabin attendant starts his or her duty  period and returns afterward. The decree implies that operators having a  base in France must pay labor levies and taxes to French  administrations. Lisbon-based NetJets Europe has been employing its  crews under Portuguese contracts, for example, and consequently is not  paying the same contributions as its French competitors. Scara estimates  that NetJets Europe bases 50 pilots in France and that it derives  revenue close to €85 million ($120 million) annually from flights  between French locations. NetJets Europe would not comment on the  matter.