Canarian Weekly
01-03-2013, 12:50
IBERIA cabin crew, pilots and ground staff will down tools again from Monday to Friday in a second protest over the 3,807 redundancies planned by the airline.
The company says the staff sackings are down to restructuring plans to cut expenses, but the strikes are costingIberia10m euros a day through loss of revenue.
Another 1,300 flights will be cancelled, despite viable alternatives to the redundancies being offered by unions, including ways to enhance productivity, and pilots even proposing a 26% pay cut,
Negotiations have reached stalemate, which means the following flights byIberia(431) Iberia Express (100), Vueling (316) and Air Nostrum (434) will be grounded.
The figure adds up to a total of 1,281, which is 59 more than last week’s five-day walk-out.
Flights through other companies, such as Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, could also be cancelled or suffer delays. That’s becauseIberia’s ground staff provide services for as many as 120 companies in Spanish airports.
And those flights which do get underway are likely to experience long delays.
People scheduled to fly into or out ofSpain, particularly with one of the fourIberiaaffiliates, should check with the airline to ensure their trip will still go ahead.
There’s even more trouble looming for Iberiaas the next five-day strike is planned for the week beginning 18th March, which will affect travellers going away for theSaint Joseph’s Day public holiday the day after.
That is when the huge Fallas festival takes place in the Comunidad Valenciana, involving thousands of tourists.
Ana Pastor, the Spanish Government’s Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure, has arranged for an independent mediator to solve the crisis, but nothing positive has yet occurred
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/strikes-costing-iberia-millions/)
The company says the staff sackings are down to restructuring plans to cut expenses, but the strikes are costingIberia10m euros a day through loss of revenue.
Another 1,300 flights will be cancelled, despite viable alternatives to the redundancies being offered by unions, including ways to enhance productivity, and pilots even proposing a 26% pay cut,
Negotiations have reached stalemate, which means the following flights byIberia(431) Iberia Express (100), Vueling (316) and Air Nostrum (434) will be grounded.
The figure adds up to a total of 1,281, which is 59 more than last week’s five-day walk-out.
Flights through other companies, such as Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, could also be cancelled or suffer delays. That’s becauseIberia’s ground staff provide services for as many as 120 companies in Spanish airports.
And those flights which do get underway are likely to experience long delays.
People scheduled to fly into or out ofSpain, particularly with one of the fourIberiaaffiliates, should check with the airline to ensure their trip will still go ahead.
There’s even more trouble looming for Iberiaas the next five-day strike is planned for the week beginning 18th March, which will affect travellers going away for theSaint Joseph’s Day public holiday the day after.
That is when the huge Fallas festival takes place in the Comunidad Valenciana, involving thousands of tourists.
Ana Pastor, the Spanish Government’s Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure, has arranged for an independent mediator to solve the crisis, but nothing positive has yet occurred
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/strikes-costing-iberia-millions/)