TAP unions to meet ministry, management this week

The main TAP workers’ unions are meeting with the ministry of infrastructure on Thursday and the company’s board on Friday after requesting urgent meetings on the restructuring plan, union sources told Lusa on Monday.

On Thursday, the nine unions representing the airline’s workers who requested urgent meetings with the management at the end of May will be received at the ministry of infrastructure and housing in the afternoon.

A joint meeting with TAP management will take place on Friday morning.

At issue is a joint statement, sent on May 26, in which the nine unions requested a face-to-face meeting with the company’s management to take place by June 3.

The same note, besides announcing the request for a meeting with management, also made several criticisms of the policies being followed by the company.

Stating that “the workers are not on sale and demand respect”, the unions said that the workers “continue to fund the company”.

The unions, which represent “the overwhelming majority of workers” in the TAP group, recalled that in the Restructuring Plan, all workers saw “their wages drastically reduced”.

But they also recalled words from management that TAP “is on track to reach 90% of its 2019 operation this summer, something the government only predicted for 2024”.

The unions pointed out that the Restructuring Plan was justified by the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic but argued that temporary agreements with workers should be “adapted to reality” and that “TAP workers continue to fund the company at a time when the company is reaching very positive operational indices, with pre-pandemic levels”.

“At the same time, the management unjustifiably keeps a restructuring process underway, completely out of step with reality, with serious losses for the workers,” the unions said.

Among the nine unions that signed the document are the National Union of Civil Aviation Workers (SINTAC), the Union of Aviation and Airport Workers (SITAVA), the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) and the Union of Civil Aviation Pilots (SPAC).

On Friday, TAP told the market that the company’s losses had been reduced in the first quarter of this year to €121.6 million, compared to €365.1 million in the same period last year, the airline said in a statement today.