ANA Aeroportos warned this Friday of possible restrictions at national airports following a strike by workers at the Menzies (formerly Groundforce) transport company scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, and is considering the possibility of flight cancellations.
Transport company workers have announced a two-day strike at the airports of Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira and Porto Santo, which will run from 00:00 Saturday until 24:00 Saturday.
“Due to this situation, there may be restrictions on operations, with possible cancellation of flights by airlines served by Menzies,” ANA Aeroportos warned in a statement.
The airport manager urges “all passengers with flights on the above mentioned dates to check with their airlines for any restrictions before heading to the airports.”
The strike was called against “the existence of a basic wage below the national minimum wage” and in protest against “the systematic use of workers from temporary work companies” and “overtime work without respect for current legal restrictions,” according to a notice sent by the Portuguese Transport Workers’ Union (Sttamp.
The union also cited in the document “consecutive changes to schedules that go beyond the provisions of the Company Agreement” and “the manner in which a voluntary resignation program is implemented under threat of collective dismissal in a company where there are no people to work.”
Stamp also justified the strike by saying that “again, no matter the reason or origin that weakens the company,” it is always “the workers who pay the bills.”
Menzies Aviation Portugal, for its part, considered the allegations of low wages, which prompted the strike, to be unfounded and unfair.
In a statement, British company Menzies Aviation, which in June completed the purchase of 50.1% of Groundforce Portugal and took control of the company, of which TAP is also a shareholder, “deeply regrets that the strike was planned for distorted reasons and is unfounded” and “the unfair and false accusations of the strike organisers, which do not reflect the reality of the recently signed agreement between the companies.”
The arbitration tribunal established minimum services for the strike, including “for all flights caused by critical situations related to the safety of persons and goods, including ambulance flights, emergency movements understood as declared flight situations, namely for technical or meteorological reasons and other conditions which by their nature make in-flight assistance absolutely urgent.”
The minimum services also include all military flights, government flights (national or foreign), and “all flights that, at the time of the commencement of the strike, were already operating in accordance with their original planning and whose destination is the national airports receiving assistance from the SPDH.”
It was also agreed that on both days, “in the Azores, work must be provided to guarantee the first landing and take-off on the route between the mainland and the region, and in Madeira, the work activity necessary for the first landing and take-off between this region and the mainland, and to support the work related to the first landing and take-off of the flight between the islands, in particular between Funchal and Porto Santo.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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