The industrial action taken by the Aviation Technical Personnel Association (APTA, for its acronym in Spanish) caused flight cancellations and delays in more than 60 flights of the Company.
Buenos Aires, June 15, 2018 (1 p.m.) – Aerolíneas Argentinas reported that between 7 and 10 AM, an unexpected and groundless industrial action was taken by around ten workers unionized with APTA that caused delays in 48 flights and 12 cancellations (including departures and relevant returns).
The passengers affected by the cancellations to and from Montevideo, Salta, Iguazú, Mendoza, Jujuy and Viedma, could be relocated by the company in other flights departing today. Despite the gradual resumption of operations, other flights may be delayed over the course of this day as a consequence of the slow-down in flight-scheduling generated by this type of action.
The action was reported by the Company to the Argentine Ministry of Labor and Employment, which ordered a mandatory conciliation, paving the way for negotiations.
The workers who organized this industrial action belong to the Clearance sector and their duties include the control of flight schedules and the loading of each airplane. In accordance with certain regulations, in Argentina clearance is performed at the place of departure, while in other countries it may be performed remotely. This is why only around ten people can block the work of 12,500 employees of Aerolíneas and cause delays to thousands of passengers.
Yesterday another aviation trade union, the Aviation Personnel Association (APA), also called an assembly in order to delay flights. This situation was later rectified by the company. Two weeks ago, the pilots unionized with the Airline Pilots Association (APLA) adopted a similar kind of measures.