Argentine Workers’ Protests Disrupt Airline Operations
Argentine workers at an informational meeting at an airport, Aug. 30, 2024. Photo: X/ @Infobaires24
August 30, 2024 Hour: 12:18 pm
‘Negotiations with the company are at a standstill. That is why we celebrate the union of our workers,’ said a flight attendant.
On Friday, dozens of flights were affected by protests led by Argentine aviation unions demanding better wages. Workers held a meeting at Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newbery Airport, where the state-owned company Aerolineas Argentinas canceled around 15 flights
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As the timing of the assemblies scheduled for this Friday was changed at the last minute, this company described the workers’ actions as a maneuver to “force further delays and cancellations.”
Aerolineas Argentinas views the informative assemblies held by workers as a covert form of strike. Consequently, the state-owned company filed a complaint with the Labor Department, defining informative assemblies as a method of work stoppage.
“The informative meetings serve to highlight the unity and strengthen our awareness as workers of a flag airline that we will always defend against the impunity of those who govern us,” said Juan Pablo Brey, a member of the Argentine Association of Flight Attendants.
“Negotiations with the company are at a standstill. That is why we celebrate the union of our workers since it is the strongest and healthiest tool to fight this struggle knowing that we have all the actors against us,” he added.
Also participating in the current demands for salary improvements are the Union of Senior and Professional Personnel of Commercial Aerospace Companies (UPSA), the Association of Airline Pilots (APLA), the Association of Aeronautical Personnel (APA), and the Association of Technicians and Employees of Protection and Security in Air Navigation (ATEPSA).
Since August 19, aviation workers have been holding meetings at various airports, disrupting airline operations with delays, cancellations, and rescheduling. On Friday, Manuel Adorni, the spokesperson for the Argentine Presidency, warned that President Javier Milei’s administration would impose “disciplinary sanctions with fines and penalties against all those who carried out these abusive measures.”
teleSUR/ JF Sources: Infobaires24 – EFE
