Iberia said 93% of union-represented employees have accepted a mediator proposal, calling off scheduled strikes of ground staff and cabin crews. It will now seek to reach an agreement on the set of proposals regarding the restructuring plan with the SEPLA pilots union.
The ground staff and cabin crew were scheduled to strike March 18-22, part of a series of strikes, the last of which affected 40,000 passengers. Iberia said it will now withdraw its plan for “mass dismissals” and will operate on a normal flight schedule beginning next week.
The mediator-supplied proposal requires Iberia to change “many aspects” of its initial viability plan and the company said it will immediately ask unions to negotiate the “measures needed to raise productivity.”
“[I am] satisfied to have achieved an agreement that enables us to advance towards a leaner, more viable Iberia, able to compete on more reasonable terms in the difficult commercial aviation business,” Iberia CEO Rafael Sánchez-Lozano said. “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.”
Iberia said it “regrets” having no agreement with the SEPLA pilots union and called it “irresponsible and showing no solidarity.”
SEPLA could not be reached for comment.