Cyprus Airways unions accept restructuring plan

The trade unions of Cyprus Airways (CAIR) decided on Wednesday Jan 4 to accept the tough restructuring deal put to them by the government that aims to save the national carrier over 20 million Cyprus pounds and includes a voluntary redundancy package for about 500 employees, including seven pilots.

The General Secretary of the airline’s biggest union CYNIKA (CY employees), Andreas Pierides had earlier said that however painful the plan is, “it must be accepted since there is no other alternative”.

The government had already made contingency plans by pledging to buy the profitable Cyprus Airways subsidiary, to keep tourists coming in the event that the lossmaking Cyprus Airways had to close.

The 116 members of the pilots’ union, PASIPY, cast their ballot yesterday on the plan which provides for savings by the pilots, rumoured to be the best paid pilots in Europe, valued at 2.4 million pounds.

The cabin crew will have to come up with savings totaling 3.3 million Cyprus pounds, including cutbacks in salary. President of the cabin crew union SYPKA, Costas Constantinou, said “We are trying to support the plan because the union has made a commitment to the company’s board that it would do so,” though adding that the members have the last word.

According to Constantinou, cabin crew members are called to accept a cutback in salary, changes in the terms of employment, reduced numbers on flights and an end to company transport to and from the airports.