According to the OECD report, the company accuses the union of continuing the strike without first attempting dialogue.
“We want to assure our customers and passengers that robust contingency plans are already in place to minimise potential disruptions,” said Rui Gomes, Vice President of Menzies Aviation Portugal.
“We are deeply disappointed by the decision of some of our unions to strike immediately without first seeking to discuss with us to find a common solution and resolve this issue,” he added.
On August 14, Sttamp issued a strike notice, covering all national airports, “from August 31, 2024 at midnight until September 1, 2024 at midnight.” On Monday, it warned of “severe restrictions at national airports, especially in Porto and Lisbon, the effects of which are currently completely unpredictable,” according to a note reported by Lusa. The union said that “there have so far been no developments in the negotiations that would allow the strike to end.”
The ground handling company is showing some concern about the intention to renegotiate recently signed corporate agreements. “About three months ago, when Menzies Aviation acquired Groundforce Portugal, we agreed on a recovery plan for the company, with 98% of our creditors and the majority of employees accepting this commitment, and all unions signed the new corporate agreement, which provides for salary terms above the national guaranteed minimum wage,” says Rui Gomes. “Unfortunately, some unions, which represent only a part of our employees in Portugal, now intend to renegotiate the terms agreed less than three months ago,” he adds.
“Apart from the significant change in the obligations under the current company agreement, this situation is very disruptive during a period of high aviation activity in Portugal and could delay the recovery plan we have implemented,” says Menzies, vice president of Aviation Portugal.
Stamp justifies the strike call within the company, which operates flights for airlines such as TAP, by citing “basic salaries below the national minimum wage”, “systematic use of workers from temporary employment agencies”, “overtime in violation of applicable legal limits” or “successive changes in working hours outside the provisions of the company agreement”.
Menzies Aviation completed the acquisition of a 50.1% stake in Groundforce Portugal in June. The remaining 49.9% is owned by TAP.
