Adding a little more misery to summer, the Union of Aviation and Airport Workers (Sitava) spokesperson confirmed that SATA Air Açores operations officers and aircraft maintenance technicians will go on strike between the 29th and 31st of August, due to a breakdown in communications between the union and the airline with regard flight operations officers career paths. The dispute has been ongoing since July 2022. The union structure considers that pilots and other flight operations crew have seen their workloads increase without receiving any benefits for their dedication and loyalty to the company.
Sitava states that “the lack of human resources is reflected in the supplementary work, some of which was foreseen, that penalises workers by reducing rest time and impacts on social and family life. The technical career of flight operations officers is crucial to the operation of SATA Air Açores, a fact that the company insists on not recognising,” the union stresses.
The union states that the impossibility of agreement affects the 23/25 measures applied to aircraft maintenance technicians of SATA Air Açores, and the human resources management “chose to make negotiations without the presence of all the unions” on this matter.
“The human resources management refuses to match the negotiated conditions with other unions. The company insists on the unequal application of salary updates between professional categories of the SATA group, with some professions receiving an increase substantially higher than inflation and others substantially below, “says Sitava.
Despite the strike, minimum services are guaranteed, such as “carrying out the flights necessary to satisfy critical problems relating to the safety of people and property and the inter-island connections of the archipelago.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
