LISBON – Cabin crew at Portugal’s state-owned airline TAP will strike for seven days at the end of January to demand higher wages and better working conditions, the SNPVAC union said on Monday.
The move comes after a walkout on Dec. 8-9 forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and affected thousands of passengers just before the holiday season. TAP usually flies 300 flights a day.
During the December strike, the airline said the two-day action would cost it around 8 million euros ($8.60 million) in revenue.
“Tomorrow we will issue a pre-strike notice of seven days, from 25 to 31 of January,” the union said in a statement.
The flag carrier is under an EU-approved 3.2-billion euro bailout plan, which includes the downsizing of its fleet, the cutting of more than 2,900 jobs and the reduction of most workers’ wages by up to 25%.
But the cuts have come at a time when surging inflation has left workers struggling with higher costs.
The pace of consumer price growth slowed in December in Portugal but inflation is still near three-decade highs.
($1 = 0.9307 euros)
