Iberia’s cabin crew and ground staff are set to hold a series of five-day strikes over the next few weeks in protest at the carrier’s restructuring plans.
Unions are set to take hold the first industrial action from February 18-22 followed by further stoppages from March 4-8 and March 18-22. But there will not be any strikes around the crucial Easter holiday period at the end of March.
Iberia’s parent company IAG said last week that it would press ahead with restructuring plans which include cutting staff numbers by 4,500 and capacity by 15 per cent, after failing to secure deals with unions.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG, spoke of his determination to “reform” Iberia during his welcome speech at this week’s Business Travel Show.
“Iberia needs to be reformed and we are going to reform it to make it a better company,” said Walsh. “I am prepared to take some short-term pain for the long-term viability of Iberia. I have done it before and I will do it again.”
Iberia’s unions had originally planned to go on strike in the run-up to Christmas but postponed any action for talks with the airline’s management.
But Gabriel Mocho, civil aviation secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, said Walsh was to blame for the failure to reach a deal with unions.
“The fingerprints of Willie Walsh are visible in the breakdown in talks that led to this declaration,” said Mocho. “Orders from above have clearly denied Iberia the freedom to achieve a joint negotiated plan with unions to secure a profitable future for the airline.
“That insistence on massive cost-cutting and job cuts doomed the talks, leaving the unions no recourse except industrial action – a stance that seems to have widespread support at all levels in Spain.”
Iberia said in a statement: "At a time of weakness for Iberia, this announcement of such a disproportionate action only aggravates an already difficult situation. The company will use all legal means at its disposal to make the adjustments needed to restore it to profitability, and to have a future."