Portugal’s Minister of the Economy, Pires de Lima, said today that the current pilots strike may cost TAP €35 million.
The minister renewed appeals to the airline’s pilots to go back to work and not get involved in the 'radical strategy' adopted by the Civil Aviation Pilots' Union thus confirming his unsuitablility for handling delicate labour relations.
On the sixth day of the strike, the economy minister said that TAP "lost 17 million euros to the end of day five" so by the end of the strike, if it holds, total losses could be €35 million.
By estimating losses at the high end of the scale, Pires de Lima serves to quantify his own failure to ensure this airline functions in its pre-privatisation period.
The minister said that 70% of scheduled TAP flights had taken off and 80% of people who had stuck with TAP had reached their destination. He did not mention what had happened to the other 20%.
The unions says that 62% of flights have taken off as scheduled and that 80% of pilots have joined the strike action. The question remains as to how 20% of TAP's pilot roster can manage to fly 62% of the scheduled flights.
The high percentage of flights that have taken off showed that many pilots "put the company first." "They have not become confused with the radical ways adopted by the leadership of the union," said the minister.
This strike "affects the reputation of a company that puts security and predictability first for its customers", says Pires de Lima.
When asked about the threat of a prolonged strike, or another strike later in the month, Pires de Lima said that this hypothesis is "a truly irresponsible threat that should not be allowed to hover around."
The government's message is as before, "We want to renew the call for pilots to continue working."
This stance does not address the union’s complaint that the government has reneged on Pires de Lima's agreement with the unions last December to award selected pilots between 15% and 20% of the privatised airline.
