Air traffic controllers are finalizing details for a series of union measures that will impact logistics and air safety throughout November. The Association of Aircraft Navigation Protection and Security Technicians and Employees (ATEPSA) has released the schedule for a strike that will last for nine days, between November 3 and 30. Meanwhile, the Argentine Air Navigation Company (EANA) has labeled ATEPSA's actions as "illegitimate".
In the first stage, the ATEPSA measures will consist of eight-hour strikes, which will exclusively affect the takeoffs of domestic cargo flights. Additionally, the union has announced that it will seek to halt, from November 3, all training activities of EANA personnel, as well as all service commissions, which are considered essential for maintaining the technological infrastructure of air navigation services.
EANA stated that this is an "illegitimate" measure, arguing that the union's stance of "non-compliance with the agreement is false", as the agreement is "currently in full execution and ends in December". Criticisms of the initiative have risen to the political level, where official sources stated that the ATEPSA strike is "purely political" and part of an old conflict. The union's position denounces the "intransigent and extortionate" attitude of the "Kirchnerist union caste", which they accuse of only "harming".
These work stoppages could complicate the aeronautical activity in the country in the coming days. The disruptions to cargo flights could lead to delays in Argentina's logistics and commercial chain. The ATEPSA union states that the demands are due to the non-compliance of labor agreements previously assumed by EANA, especially those related to the Collective Labor Agreement and the salary guideline. They also denounced the breach of commitments made in previous hearings, despite the end of the mandatory conciliation period. The strike schedule will include nights from 22:00 to 06:00, but they assured that sanitary, humanitarian, state, and search and rescue (SAR) flights will be guaranteed.
