Portugal's National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC), which has scheduled a strike for December 8 and 9, said today that TAP owes its crew more than 12 million euros in defaults.

"The management claims that the 'gains' that the crew would make from this proposal would be around eight million euros This is where the big mistake comes in. We're not talking about compromises. This is something that belongs to the crew and which the company has unilaterally withdrawn," SNPVAC said in a statement sent to its members, to which Lusa had access.

At issue are the statements made by the airline's CEO, Christine Ourmières-Widener, on Wednesday about the decision to cancel 360 flights on the days when cabin crew are due to strike, which will represent a loss of revenue of eight million euros, a figure that would be equivalent to what the crew would earn under the company agreement proposal that TAP has put on the negotiating table.

"In reality, it's not eight million euros, but constant defaults amounting to more than 12 million euros, which the company owes its crew," points out the union, quoted by Lusa.

The SNPVAC considers that her statements constitute "one of the biggest attacks on the company", "an unspeakable and unprecedented exposure" and an "attempt by the company to exert pressure and point fingers" "in a shameful way, towards the rest of the group's workers and public opinion".

"The SNPVAC leadership is not indifferent to this campaign of victimization and reminds the management that it was the company that assumed the end of the negotiations and with ultimatums on the table," it stresses.

The union met with TAP on November 15 and 16, as part of the negotiations for the new company agreement, where it says it defined "14 fundamental points" so that it could bring to the members' attention a possible cancellation of the strike.

These include the negotiation of a new agreement based on the current, "substantially improved" one, which, according to the union, TAP does not agree with.

The union's demands also include the adjustment of subsistence allowances, salary updates and the hiring of 11 crew members who are out of seniority. "The company has agreed to hire these crew members on condition that the SNPVAC presents the proposal to its members by November 22," something that the union says is "impossible to implement in the bylaws".

"It's the crew who decide on future timings. We demand respect. On December 6th, we'll be up to another general meeting and we hope to convey a clear sense of unity among all of us," said the SNPVAC.