The president of the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC), Ricardo Penarroias, stated today that the sale of 49% of TAP is “a bridge” for a potential buyer to achieve 100% ownership.
“The 49% is a bridge for a possible buyer to later achieve 100%,” said the union president in statements to Lusa.
Ricardo Penarroias also expressed concern about the terms of the sale considering that the Government did not take “care to discuss the matter with the cabin crew.”
“We have many reservations, mainly due to the fact that, once again, the Government did not take care to discuss the matter with the cabin crew,” he reiterated.
The president also noted that “the main objective is the maintenance of jobs” and not just for “36 months.”
The trade unionist further said that this announcement of the sale of the airline does not serve “the economic interests of the company” and also does not “safeguard the economic interests of the country,” but rather “the political interests of a party.”
“What we witnessed, in essence, was a sad spectacle, where if the goal was to devalue the company, then the job was well done, but with the awareness of providing poor service to the company and the country,” stated the SNPVAC president.
The Government approved on Thursday the decree-law that begins the privatization process of TAP and in which it intends to sell up to 49% of the airline’s capital.
The approval of the decree-law with the conditions for the sale of TAP is the first step to start the sale of the airline, which will return to having private shareholders after in 2020 the Government moved towards nationalization due to the impact of the pandemic on air transport.
