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Date Published: 12/05/2023

Spanish pilots from every airline threaten strikes this summer

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The airline workers in Spain are protesting the “abusive” minimum services rule

Spanish pilots from every airline threaten strikes this summer

The Spanish Union of Airlines (SEPLA) has dealt a major blow to travellers by proposing pilot strikes in all airlines in Spain this summer if the Ministry of Transport “does not reconsider” its minimum services rule. If the demand isn’t met, the union has threatened to extend the industrial action to other airline workers.

Spanish tourism has been thrown into chaos in recent years by airport and airline staff strikes, so the government has implemented a minimum percentage of flights that must operate even during work stoppages to keep the sector ticking over. This means that airline staff must ‘cross the picket line’ and show up to work, or risk being fired.

In a press conference on Friday May 12, officials from SEPLA explained that in the last 12 years there have been more than 15 rulings by the National Court that have established that the minimums issued by the Transport Ministry in the different strikes were "abusive," which has prevented the effective exercise of the right to strike.

The most sensational court case in recent months centred around Ryanair, which was found guilty of several workers’ rights violations during the cabin crew strikes in Spain last summer.

Representatives of the pilots will first propose to their associates to "escalate" the protest actions during the summer and then extend it to other groups in the sector, such as maintenance technicians, air traffic controllers and cabin crew, among others.

Unsurprisingly, the union has also gone before the National Court to request the minimum services rule be abolished for the pilot strike at Air Nostrum, which has been dragging on since February 27. It will do the same in the case of the Air Europa industrial action.

The head of SEPLA’s Air Nostrum branch, Manuel Reyes, explained that pilots are asking for a salary increase in line with inflation, since their pay hasn’t been reviewed in the last 11 years. He also argues that the minimum service requirements are so high they defeat the purpose of going on strike in the first place.

In the case of Air Europa, there have been “small updates” in the salary scale over the past decade or so, but pilots have still drastically lost purchasing power between 2021 and 2022, according to SEPLA.

In other news: Social Security offices across Spain call first strike in history

Image: Pixabay

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