In what can be only described as good news a majority of the Spanish unions who represent flight attendants of Iberia have called off their strike action after IAG Group/Iberia management and the Unions have agreed to accept proposals to be made be mediator to bring a conclusion over the cuts that Iberia has been threatening to make.
For the flying public the good news that the strike due to commence on the 18nd to 22nd March is off. Iberia has suffered with 10 days of strikes recently that has affected all operations.
SELPA – the Iberia pilots union will not strike, even through it has not accepted the proposals yet.
The agreement will be binging on all sides – with the proposal that Iberia will cut 3,141 positions instead of 3800 positions that were proposed in April.
Iberia will have to ajust its planes for its viability plans, but Iberia chief executive Rafael Sánchez-Lozano seems accepting of the situation, stating:
“We all had to concede something, but the company is totally committed to keep negotiating with the unions about all the productivity elements that are required to return Iberia to the forefront of the world airline industry”.
So for the passenger, the good news is that flights can return to normal for now without fear of strikes. Alas for some of the staff of Iberia, their future may not be as bright as they find themselves out of a job – at least it’s not as many as the January total.
