The Portuguese National Union of Civil Aviation Workers announced that the Board of Directors of the SATA Group “has finally expressed its willingness to reach an agreement with SINTAC”.
SINTAC, “aware of the financial difficulties faced by the Sata Group, met with its member workers to discuss and build a counter-proposal that could meet the company’s demands for flexibility and still fulfill the essential need for dignified enhancement of our members’ professional careers,” the union adds.
“The recent negotiations with other unions have introduced such a feeling of injustice among the workers that it is difficult to contain and manage. The current Board of Directors has already concluded other agreements that are substantially more advantageous than the one it intends to apply to us,” SINTAC stresses.
It adds: “Even with this feeling of injustice hanging over our members, we believe there is room for negotiation. The counter-proposal submitted by SINTAC on August 8, if accepted by the company, will restore the social peace we so desperately want.”
According to the union, “We have tried to dilute the salary recovery in the careers over time, adapting our initial proposal to SATA’s request, so that the gains can be gradual and spread over a longer period”.
“Some of the flexibilization measures in force until the end of the year will become definitive and those that aren’t will be applied immediately, allowing SATA to make all the gains before having all the costs,” the union reveals.
“This is a huge effort by a group of workers who are highly motivated to defend their interests and who are prepared to take the fight for dignified career development to the limit of their ability to make demands and the legal tools available to them,” it added.
“SATA’s Board of Directors now needs to convert its willingness into the ability to solve the problem! SINTAC wants an agreement that applies to all SATA Group workers, which can be an instrument of unity, balance, and motivation, regardless of their union affiliation,” he concludes.

in Diário dos Açores, Osvaldo Cabral, editor-in-chief

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