MADRID – Pilot union Sepla sticks to its threat and formalises the strike call at Air Europa. The strike will take place in early May at all locations and work centres in Spain.
Air Europa pilots strike on 1, 2, 4 and 5 May, coinciding with the long weekend of Labour Day celebrations, ‘Puente de Mayo’. Sepla accuses AirEuropa of “wanting to make a profit at the expense of users and employees”. There are currently no actions planned in June. However, that could change if the company doesn’t budge. Air Europa has already called the planned strike “selfish” and reported that it will cause “millions of losses”.
Trade union Sepla says it took this measure in response “to the labour dispute caused by the managers by playing with the rights of the employees. The company was not being strict with the labour rights acquired in the collective bargaining proposals.
The pilots fear that giving in to pressure from the company will lead to poorer working and salary conditions in the short and medium term. Furthermore, they feel “discriminated against” in comparison to other groups. “Given to this pressure would have been irresponsible to the professional and personal future of the group of pilots,” they claim.
Choice for confrontation instead of negotiation
According to Sepla, Air Europa managers “have opted for confrontation rather than negotiation. The company does this by threatening and disqualifying the pilots rather than seeking a point of agreement between both parties”.
In addition, it accuses the management of “wanting to make a profit at the expense of users and employees”. “Against users, by increasing airline tickets by more than 54% in the past year, and against employees, by imposing arbitrary demands and reducing working conditions,” Sepla added.
Reassurance
The commercial directorate of Air Europa is trying to reassure travel agents about the approaching strike in the week of the May holidays. It is pointed out that if the strike continues, the long-range operation “will not be greatly disrupted”. Moreover, the strike is expected to have a greater impact on short and medium haul flights.
On the other hand, the airline reveals that the management, with Jesús Nuño de la Rosa and Richard Clark at the helm, is working “intensively” to “reach an agreement to avoid the strikes”.
Notify customers
If the strike does go ahead, the commercial team vows to notify all affected customers, via email as well as through their web and social media channels, and through their agent channel.
However, despite this attempt to reassure partners, it currently seems unlikely that Air Europa’s management will be able to reach an agreement with the pilots to avoid the strike at the last minute.
Destinations
AirEuropa operates many domestic flights in Spain, but also flies to European cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan as well as London. Intercontinental destinations include Miami, Havana and New York.
