Pilots warn Government: “State now has its greatest negotiating power”

A trade union structure said that “it considers incomprehensible that the government has not yet heard the representatives of the pilots in the framework of the privatisation of TAP”, arguing that “the final proposals of Lufthansa and Air France-KLM must include concrete, measurable and lasting commitments on the future of the company”.

In the note, the union warned that “with the transition of the two candidates to the new negotiating phase for the acquisition of up to 44.9% of TAP’s capital”, the decision “cannot be reduced to the price offered or to generic declarations of intent”.

According to SPAC, “there are strategic options that will condition TAP for decades”, pointing out the size and composition of the fleet, development of the Lisbon hub and issues such as employment, professional careers and the effective decision-making capacity that will remain in Portugal, among others.

“The state now has its greatest negotiating power. It is before the investor's choice, with two candidates in the race, that intentions must be transformed into verifiable commitments. After the decision, Portugal’s ability to demand guarantees will necessarily be smaller,” said Hélder Santinhos, president of SPAC, quoted in the same note.

The union stressed that it “is in favour of the privatisation of TAP”, but stresses that supporting privatisation “does not mean accepting that a decision of this size is taken without hearing who knows the operation inside”.

“We do not intend to choose the shareholder, replace ourselves with the government or assume the competences of the Parpublic. We want to help Portugal make the best possible choice and prevent essential decisions for the company from being sent to future negotiations, when the investor is already chosen”, added the union president.

The SPAC recalled that “the representatives of workers are heard in other business concentration processes about the possible effects of operations on employment” and therefore considered “the absence of an equivalent hearing in a process with the economic and strategic relevance of the privatisation of TAP to be unjustified”.

The trade union structure expressed “availability to dialogue with any shareholder wishing to develop TAP, strengthen its operation and value its workers”.

The government will start final negotiations with the two candidates who delivered binding offers for the purchase of 44.9% from TAP, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa, according to Minister of the Presidency, Leitão Amaro, last week.

Minister Leitão Amaro said that offers, being different, have a “very close overall assessment”, which justifies “the negotiation effort” with both competitors, with the aim of obtaining “improved proposals” so that the government can choose “one competitor for the very final negotiation”.

On 1 September, Parpublica submitted for analysis by the Government the report on the two binding offers for the privatisation of TAP, the process of which provides for the sale of up to 49.9% of the company's capital, of which 5% are reserved for employees, and the unsubscribed portion may be acquired by the selected investor under a preferential right.