The Minister of National Defense, Javier García criticized the union measure of the air traffic controllers of suspend flights at different times from July 3 to 16 as a claim for different work situations.
“It does not seem right to us that every time there is a vacation period there is a conflict“García said this Thursday at a press conference.
“It is not fair or supportive with a number of workers who, precisely at this time of vacation, after two years of pandemic, they have their time to resume work on tourism, who are affected by this decision“, held.
“First they took action and then they sat down at the table. I don’t think that’s a good form of dialogue. First you negotiate and if there is no agreement you can take action. things have their order“, he asserted.
García pointed out that the portfolio was complying with everything agreed upon such as “budgets, statements in Accountability, training.” “We ask for a peace clause because we cannot be in this dynamic that when vacations come, measures come: it happened before the end of the year, it happened during Tourism Week, it happens now. You cannot be in this dynamic every three months“, he added.
Actau maintains the measures to suspend flights
On Wednesday night, the Association of Air Traffic Controllers of Uruguay (Actau) accepted a new government proposal, but maintains the measure of suspend flights at different times from July 3 to 16 and asked for one new meeting with the authorities to unblock the conflict, the union detailed in a statement.
This Wednesday the union met with authorities from the Ministries of Defense (MDN) and Labor (MTSS) at the headquarters of the latter portfolio, one day after declaring a conflict claiming a “commensurate remuneration”, equal pay before the same function and charge “per instruction” as well as a payment to instructorsamong other protests.
Mario Librán, president of Actau, told The Observer that the MTSS, as mediator, presented two items that were accepted by controllers. In these, an agreement was reached for the payment of instructors during 2023and to include an article in the Accountability that guarantees the payment from January 2024. In addition, it was also agreed hold a collective bargaining table to resolve the dispute.
However, Librán denounced that Defense announced to the controllers that they will not include in the Surrender the article that would guarantee equal pay before the same functionitem that was in the collective agreement that both parties they had signed in December 2022and which has been in contention for controllers for a decade.
According to Librán, if an agreement is reached definitive agreement for the payment of the instructors and it is possible to include two articles that ask for the Accountability, Actau It is similar to not reaching the extent of suspending flightsbut in the meantime the decision still stands.
