Lisbon, Feb. 10, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese airline pilots' union SIPLA is going ahead with a partial strike at Portugália from 12 to 27 March and is going to hand TAP's management a proposal to change the regulations for external contracting.
These measures were approved last week, on 5 February, by the members of the Independent Union of Airline Pilots (SIPLA), which represents the majority of Portugália pilots, at an extraordinary general meeting, in order to "safeguard jobs that are now at imminent risk", according to a statement to which Lusa had access.
One of the reasons for the dissatisfaction is related to the regulation on the use of external contracting (RRCE), created in 1998, which was intended to act as a brake on the contracting of external flights by TAP, including Portugália which accounts for the largest share, imposing limits which, if exceeded, revert in favour of TAP pilots through the payment of compensation.
This protocol, used by several European airlines, led to costs of €60 million last year as a result of the payment of six extra basic salaries to each TAP pilot, as the Expresso newspaper reported in May 2024.
The pilots of Portugália, which in 2023 carried out around 25% of TAP's total flights according to the TAP SGPS report, have been criticising the consequences of this protocol and argue that it only reinforces that it is "considered an external company", as an official SIPLA source explained to Lusa.
Despite having recently been transferred from TAP SGPS to TAP SA, as part of the airline's reprivatisation, "nothing is going to change", the union lamented, adding that "they fear for the future of the company", which currently employs almost 900 workers.
To this end, a proposal to amend the current version of the RRCE was approved, involving the introduction of four points.
The first point, which they want to discuss with TAP management led by Luís Rodrigues, is aimed at "removing the impediment to Portugália having other aircraft on its AOC [air transport operator's certificate] than the ones it currently has, which would lead to its extinction when they reach the end of their life," warns SIPLA. At the end of 2023, Portugália had 19 Embraer aeroplanes.
Another of the changes is to limit by 25% the possibility of TAP hiring external staff to Portugália on a "wet-lease" basis - an agreement between two airlines in which an aircraft with crew is operated. Today, the limit is 20%.
The other two points aim to "maintain the indexation of Portugália's fleet to TAP's in the proportion of one aircraft for every four acquired by TAP" and "remove the manufacturer's limitation, stating only that Portugália operates medium-haul flights".
SIPLA believes that this proposal reflects "the ultimate commitment to finding a solution that avoids recourse to other measures and allows social peace to be maintained".
However, following "the refusal of TAP's management to engage in dialogue with SIPLA and the management decisions that have been taken, some unilaterally, others in the form of an agreement with SPAC [Civil Aviation Pilots’ Union], some of which portend our future, with the objective that seemed clear to all of us of extinguishing Portugália, it was concluded that pilots are currently in a situation of absolute unprotection and that more robust measures are needed".
To this end, it was unanimously proposed "to present a notice of a partial strike to take place between 12 and 27 March, renewable for equal periods, at a time to be defined by the SIPLA in the best interests of its members".
SIPLA's official source assured that they have already requested a meeting with TAP's management, but have not yet received a response. However, "after six months", they managed to schedule a meeting with the minister for infrastructures, which will take place this Tuesday, 11 February.
Contacted by Lusa, an official source from the airline led by Luís Rodrigues commented that "TAP's management is in permanent dialogue with the unions that represent the company's workers".
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