TAP earnings only due to workers’ pay sacrifices
"According to the information provided, the only cost item that stands out, because it is negative, is staff costs, which fell 7.2%," Portugal's Aviation and Airport Workers Union said in a statement.
Portugal’s Aviation and Airport Workers Union (Sitava) said on Wednesday that TAP’s earnings, which reduced its losses to €202.1 million in the first half of the year, show that only the sacrifice of the workers contributed to the recovery.
“According to the information provided, the only cost item that stands out, because it is negative, is staff costs, which fell 7.2%,” the union said in a statement sent to the media.
Adding inflation, which, it pointed out, has already caused a cut in real salaries of 5%, it is “very clearly demonstrated by this presentation that it is only the workers who are contributing with their sacrifice to recover the company”.
Sitava recalled that workers continue with pay cuts, as part of the airline’s restructuring plan, despite “increasingly demanding workloads”, which accentuates “an enormous feeling of injustice bordering on humiliation.”
In addition, the union said that “the management’s inability to organise operations, subjecting workers to daily sacrifices so that everything seems as normal as possible, is becoming increasingly clear”.
“Was TAP thinking of operating as in 2019 with 2,500 fewer workers?” he asked.
Regarding the inflationary crisis, Sitava said it would soon approach the company to discuss measures to reverse the devaluation trend of wages.
In this sense, the workers’ representatives also urged the company to “avoid unnecessary expenses”, such as moving headquarters, which they consider an “unusual” and “very unwise” idea, as it would require “major building works costing several million euros, and the rent would also be around four to five million euros per year.”
TAP S.A.’s losses fell in the first half of this year to €202.1 million, compared to a negative figure of €493.1 million in the same period last year, the airline said Tuesday in a statement.
In the statement published at the Portuguese Securities and Exchange Commission (CMVM), TAP said that “the net result is clearly negative, but continues to recover in recent quarters.”
In the second quarter, the airline posted a 37.2% reduction in losses, to a negative result of €80.4 million, compared to €128.1 million in the same period of the previous year.
TAP’s CEO, Christine Ourmières-Widener, stressed that “the second quarter saw very healthy demand and higher revenues per passenger,” which offset the increase in costs.
