Infrastructure Minister João Galamba said on Tuesday that the end of the strike at TAP allows “returning social peace” to the air carrier, which must now “dedicate itself” to negotiating “a new agreement with the company.”
“The move taken by the crew union and TAP management was of paramount importance as it allowed for the restoration of social peace, and now the management, together with the unions, can devote themselves to another important stage of the Restructuring Plan, which is being negotiated for a new company agreement,” he said.
On Monday, flight attendants decided to accept TAP’s offer and call off the strike planned for Jan. 25-31.
A government official spoke to reporters in Sines, in the district of Setúbal, on the sidelines of the launch of the Nexus Agenda led by the Sines and Algarve Port Authority (APS) as part of the Mobilizing Agenda for Business Innovation Recovery and Resilience (PRR) plan.
“TAP is in a difficult process, it has good results, it is good that these results are being maintained. TAP will have record revenue and is about two years ahead of what was expected in 2025. This is of paramount importance for the future of TAP, but also good news for the workers, and this is what the negotiation process managed to convey to everyone,” he added.
In addition to calling the cancellation of the strike “great news”, Minister João Galamba said that ending it “would be a very negative factor not only for TAP, but for the Portuguese workers and for the entire country.”
“Agreements are always possible agreements and agreements are never perfect, and in the difficult situation in which the TAR finds itself, the very fact that an agreement is possible is already important,” he stressed.
For the official, it is “important” that TAP has “the conditions for the successful completion of the restructuring plan” after “the efforts made by all the Portuguese, having invested 3.2 billion euros in the company.”
“And this restructuring plan has two pillars: results that are on the right track, and social peace, which after the decision [de segunda-feira] is also on the right track, and this is the main thing,” he stressed.
Convinced that the company represents “conditions” for social peace, the official recalled that “all unions have signed emergency agreements” because “it is in everyone’s interests to cooperate to make social peace a reality” and without which “it is impossible to successfully complete the restructuring plan.”
“Without the successful completion of the restructuring plan, not only TAP suffers, but the entire Portuguese, TAP and all workers,” he stressed.
Asked about statements made by Economy Minister Costa Silva, who, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Economista, did not rule out the acquisition of TAP by IAG, Joao Galamba said he agreed that the company “should evaluate the best partners for its operational growth strategy.”
“Now there are several options, we will evaluate them all, and I will not comment on any of the potential candidates. sustainable growth, which is what we all want,” he assured.
In his opinion, the “unsustainable past” that TAP faced “cannot be repeated”, and at the moment there are “conditions for this past to change, and so that everyone, TAP and employees, can look to the future of a developing company with important partnerships in the field of air transport, which take full advantage of Portugal’s central position in this field.”
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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