Workers gather today to discuss TAP privatization

The TAP Working Committee (CT) will organize a meeting this Wednesday at 16:00 for all those who have finished working hours to discuss the privatization of the company.

On Friday, CT TAP announced a general plenary meeting scheduled for this Wednesday on the privatization of the airline it opposes, followed by a march to the airport.

However, according to the CT, the administration of the TAP put many “obstacles” to the plenum and procession, stating that it was illegal, so this structure decided to change to a concentration of workers who had worked their day.

“We need to evaluate what is happening in the company, now that privatization is on the table. The TAP Working Commission has always defended the public TAP, and so we are going to talk about this topic, discuss with the workers and identify ways to avoid this privatization,” CT coordinator Cristina Carrillo said on Friday, addressing reporters at the entrance to the airline’s premises near the Lisbon airport .

For CT, the goal of the restructuring plan that the airline is undergoing is to make it viable and profitable, and if this is achieved through public administration, there is no need for privatization.

The workers’ representative structure fears that privatization will exacerbate the “loss of labor and social rights” that workers are already facing after a restructuring plan involving layoffs and wage cuts.

“Intention, with abbreviations and denunciations of AE [acordos de empresa] is to reduce the cost of workers, so that privatization is more pleasant, say, for those who buy,” the coordinator defended, stressing that even the “disappearance of TAP” could be at stake.

Cristina Carrillo also stated that “all attempts to privatize TAP have always ended in failure, and if it were not for government assistance, TAP would have disappeared long ago.”