CY blasts ‘backstabbing’ union

CYPRUS Airways have accused disgruntled cabin crew of stabbing the airline in the back with strike threats at a time when the national carrier is struggling to stay afloat.
A number of Cyprus Airways chief flight attendants have threatened to go on strike if the airline decides to demote colleagues as a result of a decision by the airline to reduce the number of large aircraft it uses from four to two.

But CY spokesman Tassos Angelis yesterday insisted that although they were going to operate only two larger aircrafts, the flight attendants would all keep their jobs and their full salaries.

“The stewards will receive the same salaries and benefits but on some flights they will be senior stewards instead of pursers,” said Angelis.

He added the prospect of chief flight attendants going on strike was unacceptable as the airline had taken every measure to ensure nobody lost their job.

“They all want to be first. This is a difficult time for the airline financially and these stewards are stabbing us in the back. They have no reason to go on strike. The company will not accept these actions. They are not respecting their fellow colleagues and staff members. They must come back down to earth,” said Angelis.

The spokesman added that SYPKKA was the only union supporting the strike threat, saying the other unions understood airline’s point of view.

“They have not said when or if they will go on strike at all. They are just hashing out threats,” Angelis said.

But SYDIKEK union said the airline’s decision to demote chief stewards violated the rights of the three categories of stewards involved (Chief flight attendants, pursers and ordinary stewards). They also accused the airline of not informing the staff of the decision before it was reached.

A meeting has been scheduled between the SYPKKA union and the airline to discuss the issue.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.