TAP cabin crew postpone vote on emergency agreement

  • Lusa
  • 22 February 2021

The SNPVAC has postponed the vote on the emergency agreement with TAP, initially scheduled for this Monday.

The National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Staff (SNPVAC) has postponed the vote on the emergency agreement with TAP, initially scheduled for Monday, according to a statement to which Lusa had access.

A letter from the SNPVAC leader to TAP group employees, dated Saturday, said the postponement was to safeguard their best interests.

According to a message from Carlos Afonso de Sousa Castelo, the vote scheduled for Monday has therefore been suspended and postponed to a date to be announced, president of SNPVAC.

On Friday, it was also known that the Civil Aviation Pilots’ Union (SPAC) had cancelled the general meeting scheduled for Saturday in which it would vote on the emergency agreement with TAP, postponing it to 26 due to some technical and computer weaknesses, according to an internal message.

On Saturday, the government announced that TAP would move forward on Monday, pre-emptively, with the substitute scheme, a unilateral solution pending the decision of the SPAC and the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) on the emergency agreement.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing (MIH), this is a preventive measure in case it becomes necessary, while the government awaits the deliberations of the general assemblies of the only two unions that have not yet ratified the Emergency Agreement.

The substitute regime allows for the unilateral application, among other measures, of the total or partial suspension of the clauses of the company agreements.

The SNPVAC announced an emergency collective agreement with TAP on 6 February, after a ten-hour meeting with the company, in which the parties agreed to reduce redundancies to 166 crew members, from the 746 initially planned, as part of the company’s restructuring process.

The agreement reached with the crew also provides for pay cuts of 25% in 2021, 2022 and 2023, while in 2024 the reduction is 20%.

However, the pay cuts do not affect salaries below 1,330 euros, except in 2021, where the limit without reduction is 1,200 euros.

The parties also agreed that the crew would provide onboard service. However, this may be adjusted to the crews now defined, and a committee will be created to monitor the new workloads and the general service on board.

The reduction of the normal working period will be transversal to all crew members: 15% in 2021, 10% in 2022 and 5% in 2023.

Meanwhile, for Portugália (PGA) a cut in cabin crew wages of 25% was also agreed, between 2021 and 2023, and 20% in 2024, applicable to the portion above 1,330 euros.

The agreement covers the around 180 cabin crew members of Portugália Airlines (PGA) represented by the union.