Unions at Italian airline ITA Airways have called a four-day strike for February 28 after the company delayed signing an agreement on salaries at the state company. The unions called on the government to intervene in the matter.
ITA, the successor company to the former monopolist Alitalia, employs around 3,600 people. Unions are negotiating pay rises, while Rome is currently negotiating with AUA parent company Lufthansa over the sale of a minority stake in the company.
“Unacceptable Rigidity”
“The company has shown unacceptable rigidity by refusing to sign the agreement,” said Claudio Tarlazzi and Ivan Viglietti of the Uiltrasporti union. On February 28, it would be the first strike since ITA was founded in October 2021.
CGIL union official Fabrizio Cuscito described the refusal to sign the agreement as “lack of respect” for workers. ITA said the issue would first have to be discussed at a board meeting called for next week and called on the unions to meet again afterwards.
ITA Airways started in October 2021 as the unofficial and significantly smaller successor to Alitalia, which finally had to give up in the corona crisis. The company has only flown losses since it started and has had to continue to be supported by the state, which the EU has approved. In its home country of Italy, it has a market share of around 20 percent.