The INEM president said on Tuesday that the company that operates the emergency medical helicopters must comply with the contract, adding that fines would be applied if violations were found.
“What I can guarantee is that with regard to the execution of the contract, INEM will continue to do what it has always done, which is to enforce the contract by applying the penalties provided for in the contract,” he said. said Lusa Luis Meira on the sidelines of a ceremony to present the League of Portuguese Firefighters with a commemorative medal of “Covid-19 Gratitude” to health organizations involved in the pandemic.
The President of the National Institute of Emergency Medicine (INEM) reacted to today’s warning from the Union of Civil Aviation Pilots (SPAC), which warned of the “imminent grounding of INEM helicopters, flown by 32 pilots of Avincis Aviation Portugal, due to the depletion of individual working hours for each pilot” .
SPAC has asked the authorities for “immediate intervention” to resolve the problem of INEM helicopter pilots as they risk being grounded from December 7 as they have exceeded annual flight limits.
Luis Meira explained that this is “a conflict that exists between the company providing this service and the pilots.”
“The resolution of this conflict is primarily the responsibility of the company and the pilots, namely those who manage this conflict through the union,” he said, ensuring that INEM “will continue to do what it has always done.”
INEM pilots have been complaining for some time that Avincis Aviation Portugal (the company that has the contract to operate INEM’s emergency medical helicopters) does not comply with minimum rest periods, as well as overwork and accumulated fatigue, and does not have an enterprise agreement protecting them rights similar to those of their Italian and Spanish counterparts.
According to the pilots, the lack of rest conditions jeopardizes their safety and the safety of the patients they transport.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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