Aerolineas Argentinas denounced pilots’ union for refusing to train on simulators amid vaccine dispute

Aerolineas Argentinas has filed a complaint against the Airline Pilots Association (APLA) with the Ministry of Labor for what it considers a covert force measure by the aviation union which refuses to allow its members to attend courses due to the sanitary situation and that, as a result, he grounded 20% of the aviators of the firm. The situation, which revolves around workers’ requests for vaccines, has already cost the company the hijacking of a flight. The airline’s goal is to achieve compulsory conciliation so as not to have to suspend flights in the weeks to come.

The company argued in its presentation to the ministry that APLA had mandated its affiliates not to attend training courses at the company’s training center, which resulted in the expiration of certifications. A total of 261 pilots were unable to fly when their certifications expired and the number increases as activity in the flight simulators stops.

The instruction brake has already caused operational problems. Flight 1303 on June 10 from Miami was unable to land at Ezeiza on a foggy day because the pilot had expired certification to do so in these weather conditions. The plane had to be diverted to another airport.

“The impact of these measures is not only operational (…) but also tends to deprofessionalize pilots” (Airlines)

Following the complaint, the Ministry of Labor has called a meeting with the parties for tomorrow. Portfolio headed by Claudio Moroni could dictate compulsory conciliation, although it may come up against the fact that the APLA does not accept that it is a labor dispute, but rather a health issue. .

“In the case of an airplane cockpit, there is no social distancing, but the airplane has microfilters and a very high volume of air circulation. We had a very low percentage of in-flight infections. In the simulator cabin it is different, there are neither these filters nor the renewal of air, nor the chances that the protocol will protect you, because part of the training involves the use of oxygen masks which eliminate the jugular, ”he explained. Pablo Biró, secretary general of the APLA in Infobae.

“We had contagions in the training center, and what we did was ask Aerolineas Argentinas and the Ministry of Transport to ask us to include ourselves among the staff to be vaccinated, which the Minister of Transport has accepted and informed us that Health had informed that transport workers would be vaccinated as soon as the essentials and citizens with co-morbidities would be vaccinated, ”added Biró.

“The government has the tools. First, you can keep what you promised, there are already districts that vaccinate 45-year-old citizens without co-morbidities. They have the tool and could program the pilots to be vaccinated, ”explained the person in charge of the pilot.

The disagreement coincides with the joint negotiation of the sector, which was delayed by the drag the industry suffered in 2020. The joint negotiation which expired in September of last year has not yet been closed and this discussion is ongoing. However, the pilots claim that these are two issues that work on different elevators.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with the issue of equality or work, it’s a question of health. We have not stopped working together and we are not going to stop working together to fight the pandemic, ”said Biró. “If they vaccinate us, we come back,” he concluded.

“If they vaccinate us, we will come back” (Biró)

In the letter, the company argues that only 6% of APLA affiliates have tested positive for Covid-19 and that in the event of a pandemic it cannot be verified that the contagion was in the workplace. . Also that it has taken the necessary health protection measures and that, given the continued refusal of the APLA to attend the training sessions, “the impact (…) is not only operational, like that has been underlined, but also tends towards the deprofessionalization of pilots in clear contrast with the priority that the Company has always granted them in accordance with the applicable regulations ”.

The shortage of crews was tolerable for the airline until a few weeks ago, given the small number of flights allowed each month. But, soon, the company will be returning to destinations interrupted by the pandemic, such as the flight to New York, and if certifications continue to expire, it will run out of enough pilots.

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