MILITANT pilots of national carrier Cyprus Airways (CY) said yesterday they would stage a “warning strike” in protest at management’s backtracking on a cost-cutting deal.
Earlier this month, long and painful negotiations led to an agreement between the unions and the airline on a rescue plan for CY, which has been incurring losses of £2-3 million a month and is on the brink of bankruptcy.
The latest row inside CY came even as a delegation comprising the ministers of Finance and Communications and CY’s general manager Lazaros Savvides flew to Brussels to present the plan to the EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot. The EU must approve the blueprint before releasing a badly needed £58 million loan that is hoped will make the airline a viable venture.
But the powerful pilots’ union PASYPI are now threatening to throw the airline into disarray at one of its most sensitive moments. They accuse management of trying to slip new cuts through the back door.
As a pre-emptive countermeasure, pilots will be carrying out a four-hour strike on February 9 from 4 to 8pm, during which they will carry out a demo outside the parliament building in Nicosia.
But they also plan to send a letter to the EU informing it of management’s change of tune, and are contemplating legal measures against the company.
“They are not doing what they said they would when they put their signature on paper,” charged PASYPI spokesman Tassos Christofides.
According to Christofides, the initial version of the restructuring plan provided for up to 25 per cent salary cutbacks. But during the course of negotiations pilots instead offered to have their salaries slashed by 15 per cent, to be offset by further reductions in allowances and benefits.
“We even agreed to modifications to the provident fund, which to the other unions is a ‘no-no’,” Christofides told the Mail.
PASYPI alleges that at the time the airline agreed to this counter-proposal, even circulating a letter to all the unions confirming the agreement.
“This letter, signed by Mr Lazaros Savvides himself, is dated December 20. But later on, after the unions had consented to the plan on this understanding, we received a different letter that reverted to the initial version of the plan.
“The funny thing is… the cutbacks now being proposed are on the basis of some other plan which we do not have in writing,” noted Christofides.
“It’s a totally arbitrary move, and we shall not stand for this.”
Pilots are among the highest paid employees in the airline, receiving average wages of £60,000 per annum, not including a number of bonuses such as overnight and maintenance allowances.
Yet contrary to media speculation last week, PASYPI seems to have shied away from a full-blown strike. Union leaders probably realise that such an action would probably turn the public against them – memories are still fresh of the potato growers’ mobilisations that fell into ignominy.
The pilots see sinister motives behind management’s alleged change of stance.
“They’re goading us into going on a strike, so they can then put all the blame on us. They don’t’ care about the airline… in fact, we suspect they’re trying to drive into the ground.”
Speaking from Larnaca airport on Sunday before heading out to Brussels, Communications Minister Harris Thrasou appealed to the pilots to show common sense.
“We hope they’ll work with the government in getting the plan approved and not make any rash decisions,” he said.
