Unions in the aviation sector are committed to fighting against the new labor package, which they consider to be heavily penalizing. The four largest unions in this area voted in favor of participating in the general strike on December 11, a decision that will lead to the cancellation of a large part of flights at Portuguese airports next Thursday. Together, SPAC, SNPVAC, SITAVA and SITEMA represent 4000 workers, out of 10 thousand in the sector.
“The draft “Work XXI” constitutes a civilizational setback in the labor protection of Portuguese workers”consider the Civil Aviation Pilots Union, the National Civil Aviation Flight Personnel Union (SNPVAC), SITAVA – Aviation and Airport Workers Union and the Aircraft Maintenance Technicians Union (SITEMA).
The four structures argue that with this package “the contractual power refocuses on the employer and weakens collective bargaining“. Furthermore, “reinstatement is allowed to be replaced by mere compensation in the case of unlawful dismissal” and “the individual time bank is introduced, which aims to put an end to the payment of overtime work”, opening the door to replacing dismissed workers with hiring in outsourcingwarn the unions.
Attack on shift workers and safety
Union structures consider that the aviation sector is particularly affected by these changes. There is, they say, a “violent attack on parental rights, which especially disproportionately affects workers in the aviation sectorprecisely due to the shift system and irregular schedules”.
The new labor package, if approved, will worsen “precariousness, particularly in highly qualified sectors, such as aviation, where contractual stability is an essential condition for operational security and public safety”.
The unions point to a gross violation of constitutional principles. And they ask that what was achieved “with decades of rigor and responsibility” not be called into question, such as the valorization of highly qualified professions, collective contracting, which ensures balance between companies and workers, and job stability, which constitutes the basis of safety in the air.