Latam Airlines and pilots in Chile reach deal averting strike
FILE PHOTO: A passenger plane arrives at the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago, Chile May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado//File Photo
SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Latam Airlines and its main pilots’ union in Chile have reached an agreement staving off a threatened strike, the union said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Union of Latam Pilots (SPL), which says it represents 313 of the airline’s nearly 500 pilots, voted almost unanimously last week to begin a strike, leaving a window for a mediation process mandated by Chilean law.
«Minutes before the deadline expired for reaching a fair deal, Latam and the SPL union managed to defuse a strike which until the end seemed inevitable,» the union said in a statement, which provided no details of the accord.
The union argued that due to the pandemic, 240 pilots were fired and compensation was reduced by 30%. It said that while company executives and other employees have since recovered 100% of their pre-pandemic salaries, pilots continue to receive a reduced salary.
The largest carrier in South America, Latam Airlines last week announced the completion of a years-long restructuring process after it declared bankruptcy in 2020.
The airline, created by the 2012 merger of Chile’s LAN with Brazilian rival TAM, operates units in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
