Lisbon, Aug. 12, 2024 (Lusa) - The Portuguese government has on Monday decreed minimum levels of service for the strike by easyJet cabin crew members between Thursday and Saturday, who operate flights to Madeira, Geneva, Luxembourg and London, following a failure to reach an agreement between the company and the union.
In a joint order issued by the ministries of Infrastructure and Labour, published on the website of the Directorate General for Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT), it is stated that the determination of the minimum service levels includes the services considered "necessary to meet the unforeseeable social needs relating to the constitutional right to travel", taking into account the number of days of the strike, the season covered, "in which, for social reasons, a significant number of people are travelling and the fact that we are in the middle of the IATA summer (airport nomenclature of the International Air Transport Association), as well as the need to safeguard the territorial continuity of the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores".
As a result, the government has decided that on Thursday the airline will provide a minimum of three flights between Lisbon - Funchal - Lisbon, one between Lisbon - Geneva - Lisbon, one between Lisbon - Luxembourg - Lisbon, two between Porto - Funchal - Porto, one between Porto - Geneva - Porto, one between Porto - Luxembourg - Porto, one between Porto - Porto Santo - Porto, one between Faro - Geneva - Faro and another between Faro - London - Faro.
On the 16th, there will be two flights between Lisbon - Funchal - Lisbon, one between Lisbon - Geneva - Lisbon, one between Lisbon - Luxembourg - Lisbon, one between Lisbon - Porto Santo - Lisbon, two between Porto - Funchal - Porto, one between Porto - Geneva - Porto, one between Porto - Luxembourg - Porto, one between Faro - Geneva - Faro and one between Faro - London - Faro.
On the last of the three days of the strike, the airline has to ensure two flights between Lisbon - Funchal - Lisbon, one between Lisbon - Geneva - Lisbon, one between Porto - Funchal - Porto, one between Porto - Geneva - Porto, one between Porto - Luxembourg - Porto, one between Faro - Geneva - Faro and one between Faro - London - Faro.
In the strike notice, the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) argued that minimum services should not be decreed for this strike, arguing that the concept of unforeseeable needs in the air transport sector is only confined to the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, for reasons of national cohesion and isolation of the communities for whom this means of transport is essential, which are destinations provided by other airlines.
The Directorate General for Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT) organised a meeting between the union and the company to define minimum services, as is customary in cases where there is no agreement between the parties, and the airline presented a proposal with which the SNPVAC did not agree.
"EasyJet - Airline Company Limited - Portuguese Branch is a private company and so, in the absence of an agreement, the definition of minimum services and the means necessary to ensure them is the responsibility of the members of the Government responsible for the labour area and the sector of activity in question," explains the joint order.
According to the strike notice sent by the union to the Ministry of Labour and the airline, to which Lusa has had access, the stoppage will start at 00:01 on 15 August and end at 24:00 on 17 August, for "all flights operated by easyJet, as well as for the other services to which cabin crew are assigned" in Portugal.
The union says that the workers are dissatisfied with the "continuous and ever-increasing disrespect for their professional dignity", with the problems of lack of roster stability, with the discriminatory treatment of pilots in the compensation given as part of the summer disruption, with the insufficiency of staff in all relevant departments, and with the pressure to work overtime.
MPE/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
