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Air France withdraws latest 'Transform 2015' pilot proposals

PARIS (Reuters) - Air France has withdrawn proposals to pilots aimed at putting the last touches to its Transform 2015 restructuring scheme, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The French network of Air France-KLM is negotiating the last remaining points of the scheme in parallel with talks on a new successor plan, labelled Perform 2020.

Human Resources Director Xavier Broseta announced the move in a letter to the union's president, accusing him of failing to turn up to sign an agreement on certain parts of the accord.

The letter said the airline was not prepared to wait for further consultations proposed by the union.

"We are very surprised because there has never been any formal agreement that needed to be signed," the union spokesman said, adding this marked a step back from greater co-operation established since early July.

A spokeswoman for Air France declined to comment.

The points still being discussed involve night-time working, crew composition and the overall direction of pay.

The SNPL has pushed back the deadline for consultations with its members to Aug. 18 from Aug. 7.

It was at the centre of a bitter 15-day pilots' strike last year, but a spokesman said a new walkout was not on the agenda.

However, relations between Air France and the union, which had eased in recent weeks, appear to have taken a new downturn.

Air France took the union to court in mid-June to try to force through reforms, but was rebuffed by a French court.

Air France has sealed two key labour accords in recent weeks: to keep open three regional bases - Nice, Marseille and Toulouse - and to help about 100 Boeing 747 pilots transfer to new posts when the elderly aircraft are retired by 2016.

Last month, Air France-KLM Chief Executive Alexandre de Juniac urged Air France pilots to reach a new productivity agreement by the end of September or face "severe measures" to cut routes in the airline's long-haul network.

(Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer, writing by Tim Hepher)