The Ministry of Transport reported this Monday, through a statement, of a meeting between Ricardo Viegas d'Abreu and representatives of the SPNC, following a protest by these workers that took place over the weekend at February 4th airport, in Luanda, and was widely publicized on social networks.
The protest demanded respect from the "politicians" for the TAAG company and its workers.
"When does a foreigner arrive here, without anyone's authorization to enter the flag company and endanger the jobs, the work of Angolans? It has a political nature, yes", criticized a union official, alluding to the company's executive president, the Spaniard Eduardo Soria.
In the video that circulated on social media, the same official demands to meet with the company's administration and the Ministry of Transport, while several stewardesses parade hand in hand, wearing the company's uniforms.
The statement released this Monday states that the Transport minister advised the members of that union "to exhaust all efforts and channels" provided for in the law "to have their legitimate concerns resolved" and demanded the opening of a space for dialogue, "to resolve the divergent issues, including sharing information on the current and future business strategy" of the flag carrier.
According to the statement, Ricardo Viegas d'Abreu wanted to know what were "the real motivations that led to an extreme point of use of media mechanisms and eventually outside the law", recommending to the union and TAAG that they create "a business and communication climate, frank and open".
"We are concerned to see videos on social networks, without all the alternatives provided for in the law being exhausted in order to reach this climate of rupture, including the negotiation of a claim book that was never presented by the union", says the minister, quoted on the same note.
"From the content of the videos, comments and once the union has been consulted, the perception is clear that there is a misrepresentation of TAAG's restructuring strategy", reads the statement, where the minister reiterates that "the path cannot be constructed, with slander, defamation and personal offenses".
The official also warned of the need to improve communication, reaffirming the need for the Board of Directors to open "space for dialogue with the class and listening to their concerns and concerns in a civilized and urban way".
The union leaders "were unanimous in underlining that, as they did not feel heard by the Board of Directors, in view of what they understood to be violations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement mutually concluded, they publicly decided to put pressure on", said the note from the Ministry of Transport, indicating who are available to "sit at the table" if they feel that management is available.
"They understand that the situation would never have reached the point of public disclosure of their claims, if there had been a more assertive communication regarding the ongoing reforms at TAAG, with regard to the fate of the PNC class", adds the statement.
Concerns about the future of TAAG had already given rise to a public clarification of the airline in the form of an interview with the chairman of the board of directors, Ana Major, after it was announced that the operation in Lisbon would adopt the GSA model (General Sales Agent), with the scale being managed by the Summerwind GSA entity.
In that document, Ana Major denied the sale of TAAG to a Spanish group and said that the company would not close in Portugal.
"However, a minimum and essential core of TAAG collaborators will be maintained in Lisbon", added Ana Major, guaranteeing that the legal rights of workers would be safeguarded.
The president of TAAG also denied family relationships between the executive directors of TAAG and Summerwind, who share the surname Soria, and stressed that the company was not delivered to a foreigner, with more than 95 percent of its Angolan workforce.
It also addressed issues related to the leasing of aircraft from the Hi Fly company in a 'wet lease' format (with crew included) for short-term periods, explaining that this was the fastest way to respond to the emerging need in terms of aircraft available in a period peak in the market.
She also highlighted that TAAG had entered into a commercial agreement with ALC (Air Lease Corporation) for the provision of six Airbus A220-300 aircraft, with deliveries in phases from August 2023, whose operation "will rely exclusively on Angolan pilots and cabin staff , as well as the maintenance management will be done by local teams".
Ana Major also responded to the question of having commercial passenger flights operated by Hi Fly on Airbus for routes such as Lisbon, justifying that it was necessary to allocate more aircraft to respond to the high flow of passengers in transit to destinations in Europe, with Airbus being A330 a more economical aircraft for that connection.
"Since this is a very competitive route with competition from other operators, it is important for us to be able to guarantee connections and, at the same time, obtain operational efficiency (cost reduction and fuel consumption rates). connections to Havana/Cuba and São Paulo/Brazil where there is no competition. It is, therefore, a decision that brings gains to TAAG", she justified.
