The union that represents Brazilian captains, co-pilots and flight attendants called a demonstration after Gol implemented a salary compensation policy with values different from those presented by workers.
The protest is scheduled for this Monday (1st), at 1 pm, at the headquarters of the SNA (National Union of Aeronauts).
When contacted, Gol did not respond until the publication of this report.
The decision that motivated the protests was announced last Tuesday (26) by Gol’s chief executive, Celso Ferrer. In a video, he says that the company will pay, for the next four months, amounts to recompose salaries, in addition to creating a forum for “cost optimization” that will have 12 guest crew members.
According to the union, the monthly value of this recomposition ranges from approximately R$ 450, for flight attendants, to R$ 2,300, for commanders. The union’s proposal was a salary readjustment of 8.5% and a monthly indemnity sum similar to that presented by the company, but for 12 months, not four.
“For many crew members it seems like a big shut up”, says union president Henrique Hacklaender. “Gol implemented crisis management without any approval from the category and without measuring whether this would be satisfactory.”
Through its website, the SNA stated that the compensation implemented by Gol “does not meet the claim agenda” of the category. The entity also does not agree with the creation of a forum with crew members to discuss cost cuts.
The call for the protest is another chapter in the discontent of the airline’s employees since the beginning of the pandemic.
The sector was one of the most affected by the paralysis of the economy. According to a survey by the CNI (National Confederation of Industries), in May 2020 the country registered 588,000 paying passengers, a number 93% lower than in the same month of the previous year. According to data from IATA (the international association of airlines), companies lost, on average, US$ 230 million per day in the first six months of the crisis.
In this context, the airlines negotiated with the unions to reduce wages in exchange for maintaining jobs – an agreement that was maintained until December last year by Gol.
Even with the return of full salary, Hacklaender says that, compared to 2019, the remuneration of Gol’s crew has dropped by at least 20%. This is because half of this amount is variable and depends on the number of flights, which the company has not yet resumed at the pace before the coronavirus crisis.
“During the pandemic, many people spent everything they had from their reserves to try to maintain themselves”, says the pilot.
In the video released this week, the executive president of Gol says that the company is working to normalize the flight hours of employees until December this year.
The airline sector continues to be one of the most affected by the health crisis, although it shows signs of recovery. In July this year, 7.3 million paying passengers were transported, 160% more than in the same period in 2021.
This Thursday (28), Gol announced that it had a net loss of R$ 2.85 billion in the second quarter, against a profit of R$ 658 million in the same period of the previous year.
Already the net operating revenue in the period jumped 215.3%, to r $ 3.24 billion, which was not enough to encourage investors: the company’s shares came to retreat 6% in the afternoon of this Thursday.
with Reuters
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