Ten airports in Portugal face high chances of significant disruptions to operations as two major worker unions have threatened to go on a three-day strike later this month. Members of the Civil Aviation Workers’ Union (SINTAC) and the Commercial Aviation Staff Union (SQAC) have jointly proposed the strike action from August 19th to 21st at ten major Portuguese airports operated by airport operator ANA.

According to Reuters, the workers going on strike have accused conglomerate ANA and French concessions group Vinci of not paying them a decent wage while making millions in profit. It isn’t entirely clear which airports will be affected by the strike action, but ANA operates ten airports in Portugal, including Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, Ponta Delgada, Horta, Santa Maria, Flores, and Beja.

In a joint statement obtained by the Portuguese American Journal, the unions said,

“Given the inflexibility of the proposals presented by ANA/VINCI over the last year and the attempt to reducing rights enshrined in the Company Agreement, attacking the rights that workers have achieved over decades, SINTAC and SQAC consider it urgent to end this blind policy and put an end to all this uncertainty.”

ANA unhappy with unions

Naturally, airport operator ANA was unhappy with the unions’ announcement and expressed regret over the planned strike action. The company said it had already reviewed workers’ wages a few months ago in April and has also handed out bonuses.

A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 in Lisbon
Thousands of passengers at 10 airports in Portugal are expected to face severe disruptions if the planned strike action goes ahead. Photo: ANA Airports Portugal

The strike will see participation from workers at all ten airports under ANA’s control and will begin on 0000 hours on August 19th. Thousands of passengers will likely face delays or flight cancellations if the planned strike action goes ahead.

Among demands for better pay, the unions also want contributions to the pension fund by Vinci to be reinstated. Travel Radar obtained a statement that said,

“Demand for the lifting of the suspension of contributions to the pension fund by Vinci, as well as the hiring of more human resources for airport operations, rescue operation supervisors.”

Increasing strikes across Europe

Over the past few months, we have seen significant disruptions at several airports across Europe and the UK due to a staffing crisis brought on by the incredible bounce-back of air travel after the pandemic. This has led to many existing workers asking for better pay and unions threatening strike action if their demands aren’t fulfilled.

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330 in Lisbon
Workers' strikes have become increasingly common in recent weeks. Photo: ANA Airports Portugal

Just last week, Lufthansa ground workers had called for a strike over similar reasons to the upcoming strikes in Portugal. While the strike was only for a day, the German carrier was forced to cancel over a thousand flights from its Frankfurt hub. At one point, there were only eight Lufthansa aircraft in the sky from the airline’s active fleet of over 200 planes. This goes to show just how badly such industrial actions can affect aviation, even if the strike is for a day.

Why do you think industrial action by unions has been increasing in recent weeks? Please, share your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Reuters, The Portuguese American Journal, and Travel Radar