MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Labour strife forces Lan Argentina to cancel most flights

Recurrence of strikes damages LAN affiliate

LAN Argentina was forced to cancel on Tuesday morning an additional five flights following the support from ground crews to the airline' pilots, technicians and crew members strike.

A majority of the staff from Chile's LAN subsidiary in Argentina begun on Monday an "indefinite" period strike arguing the company has failed to comply with the labor agreements. However LAN spokesman Pablo Querol, said the strike â€" the fourth one this year â€" is not about the company but about "looking tough in the face of a showdown with the government over the problems surrounding air safety". Querol insisted that LAN is always open to "sit down and negotiate," and he said he regretted the fact that the passengers always end up being "held hostage by a group of people who control the unions and pressure their representatives so that they join in with the industrial action". But union leader Juan Pappalardo of the technicians union was adamant about the role of LAN in provoking the strike, saying it was a consequence of "failing to meet agreements we had negotiated and concluded but that LAN chooses to deny". He said the strike would last until "the collective bargaining deal was put into effect," insisting that the airline does not comply with work day agreements of with agreements on other labour conditions such as benefits, holidays and transport. The strike, according to pilots' union president Jorge Pérez Tamayo, was the consequence of "the ill treatment that airline industry workers receive". He said he felt that "LAN does not comply with collective agreements or with the national constitution, because some employees are paid in Chile and yet fly in Argentina". Tamayo went on to say that his union demands an "immediate and clear compliance with all labour contracts, collective agreements and accords with the company's workers, blue and white collar and with the government, which LAN fails to abide by continuously." Pilots and technicians of LAN Argentina went on strike Monday causing the cancellation of all domestic flights operated by LAN. Querol said the company had been "surprised" by the sudden action" adding he was unaware of any contentious issues with the unions. In related news Lan Argentina is expected to incorporate an additional A320 next July in support of domestic flights and a second similar unit in October to cover regional operations. Lan Argentina also has plans to reinforce flights to Sao Paulo and Miami with a Boeing 767 to be delivered sometime in the second half of 2007. However the company won't be able to fly to Madrid, Spain until next year because of the backlog delivery of Airbus.