The leadership of the Sitava union referenced a quote attributed to German physicist Albert Einstein: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
“We are, of course, talking about the new attempt to privatize TAP. And in light of this, we cannot help but question why. Why now? Why the rush?” the union stated, adding that they cannot understand “the haste that the Government shows in divesting from a company that is still within the recovery program period and is achieving this recovery in a way that should make us proud” and “largely thanks to the great commitment” of its workers.
The union argued that if TAP had been privatized in the 1997 process, with its sale to the now-bankrupt Swissair, or in 2014 with the attempted sale to Brazilian-Colombian businessman Germán Efromovich, or if it had remained in private hands in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Portuguese airline “would no longer exist.”
“Its disappearance would have, indeed, caused the country (therefore, the taxpayers as neoliberals like to say) losses of many billions of euros,” Sitava claimed, noting that “failing to recognize this undeniable fact can only be due to intellectual dishonesty or ideological blindness.”
The union also criticized the privatization of airport management company ANA, arguing that its sale to the French Vinci “left Portugal at the mercy of foreign interests.”
Sitava stated that the government’s 3.2 billion euro support to save the company during the pandemic was meant to ensure the continuity of an asset of vital importance to the country and its economy.
Last Thursday, the Government approved the decree-law that marks the start of the privatization process for TAP, anticipating the opening of up to 49.9% of the airline’s share capital to private investors, with 5% reserved for employees.
