SATA group workers protested yesterday against the divestiture of their handling responsibilities. The demonstration took place in front of the Finance Secretariat in Ponta Delgada. Dário Ponte, coordinator of the SATA Air Açores Workers’ Commission, told our newspaper that “today’s (yesterday’s) demonstration was called by SITAVA, the Aviation and Airport Workers’ Union. And we, as Sata Air Açores workers, are sensitive to all SATA group workers who have their lives in limbo. Now, Azores Airlines is going to be sold, and handling is going to be sold. We are concerned about the future of the workers and the uncertainty surrounding these changes that are now going to be made in the SATA group.”

Asked what he thinks about the privatization of SATA, the coordinator of the SATA Air Açores Workers’ Commission replied that “I prefer not to comment on Azores Airlines. Regarding the 100% sale of handling, we do not understand it. The government says that this is an imposition by the European Union, but that is a lie. It was not the European Union that decided to include the proposal to sell 100% of the handling in the specifications. It was the government, and the sale of 100% of the handling will be a huge mistake for the Azores. We, the Azoreans, will lose out on this, and the airline will lose its ability to operate inter-island flights. Without handling, things become much more complicated. What we see around the world is that all companies continue to have a stake in their handling. TAP has it, Lufthansa has it too, and we cannot understand why our Regional Government insists on selling an asset that only makes a loss because the Government wants it to.

Dário Ponte disagrees with the narrative that the SATA group has too many employees. For the coordinator of the SATA Air Açores Workers’ Commission, the company “does not have too many people. We had airports open with huge time slots, which obviously forced them to hire people to keep the airports open. We have slots that, at some airports, run from 4 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day. I can’t just have one shift working to cover that huge time slot.“

Finally, when asked whether the demonstrations and strikes could harm the company, Dário Ponte said that ”the unions are very cautious about this issue. Going on strike will always be a last resort. At this moment, the union is not even considering going ahead with any kind of strike.

“The restructuring of the SATA group has failed miserably.”

João Pacheco, leader of SITAVA, in statements to Antena 1, said that “the purpose of the demonstration is to ”publicly express, with all due respect, to all SATA group workers, on behalf of the supervisory body, the justification for the company’s financial situation and to demand that the truth be revealed about the real reasons that led the company to its current state of great economic and financial imbalance.

The company we all support must be recovered, and there is only one way to do this: with the workers and never against the workers.“

For the leader, the restructuring that was carried out did not have the expected effect. ”We consider that the restructuring of the SATA group has failed miserably. And this failure on the part of the government shifts the responsibility to the workers. We all know that the workers are not to blame. There are those who are to blame, but it is not the workers. Regarding the statements made by some members of our executive, it is clearly unpleasant for all SATA group workers to feel that the company’s own owners are the first to fail to show the company the respect it deserves.”

Left Bloc stands with the workers.

The Left Bloc, in a note sent to our newsroom, states that it stands with the workers. “The Left Bloc stands with the SATA workers who demonstrated today in Ponta Delgada in defense of the airline, public service, and their jobs.

The Regional Government’s attitude towards SATA workers has been unacceptable at all levels.“

”The Regional Government has blamed the workers for the dire financial situation of the SATA group, even pressuring them to give up their rights to facilitate the privatization of SATA Internacional,” the statement reads.

According to the same note, “by threatening to close SATA Internacional, the Regional Government is exerting unacceptable blackmail on the workers and totally devaluing the airline. The Bloco reaffirms that the privatization process of SATA Internacional and a large part of SATA Air Açores’ ground handling service is the path to the total dismantling of the SATA group.”

According to the Left Bloc, “the strategy pursued by the PSD/CDS/PPM government, supported by the CH, with a view to privatization has resulted in the worsening of SATA’s financial and operational situation. The Bloco also recalls that it was this right-wing regional government that claimed it would save SATA. Four years later, the SATA group is worse off than ever. A change in management and strategy for the SATA group is essential for its survival.“

”We must stop the privatization of SATA Air Açores’ handling service and negotiate a strategic partnership between SATA Internacional and TAP that avoids the privatization of SATA Internacional or its closure,” concludes the Left Bloc.

Privatization decision postponed until Friday

According to a report by Antena 1 Açores, the tender jury has scheduled an urgent meeting between the parties for next Friday in Lisbon at 4:00 p.m. to discuss the privatization of Azores Airlines.

This is after the deadline set by the government, which ends today, but the process has not progressed. The meetings scheduled for yesterday and today to close the deal did not take place, as none of the parties attended. The tender jury, led by Augusto Mateus, intervened in the face of this uncertainty and called the heads of SATA and the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium to Lisbon for a face-to-face meeting.

According to Antena 1 Açores, sources close to the negotiation process indicate that this will be the final meeting to determine whether the deal will proceed or fall through.

Frederico Figueiredo is a journalist for Correio dos Açores. Natalino Viveiros-director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.