MEA hired pilots from other airlines
BEIRUT: Talks between Middle East Airlines (MEA) and pilots over a new package reached a dead-end Tuesday as the management is reported to have borrowed some pilots from other airways in case the company’s aviators went on strike.
Labor Minister Boutros Harb, who presided over a meeting between MEA’s management and the intransigent pilots, told reporters that the pilots turned down another offer by the company to resolve the long running standoff.
“The Labor Ministry tried to mediate a deal between both sides but regrettably the pilots rejected our gesture and insisted on their demands. We will try again to sort out the problem,” Harb said.
The labor minister warned that any negative action by the pilots would negatively affect the tourism season this summer and that this was unacceptable.
Sources close to the firm said a number of pilots from other airlines have been borrowed on a temporary basis in case MEA’s pilots went on strike.
“We can’t take any chances. If the pilots went on strike again then it is the company’s duty to take any action to ensure that the airline never stops operations. We are also talking about the livelihoods of 5,500 employees,” one source said.
Captain Mahmoud Houmani, the head of the Lebanese Pilots Syndicate, told The Daily Star that all options are open if the management failed to respond to their demands.
“They [MEA] have hired pilots from other airlines and this action is against the law. They have no right to do this,” Houmani said.
He claimed all the pilots were united behind the syndicate but refused to say if they would stage a strike anytime soon.
Houmani said that some of the new pilots hired by the company have been granted licenses and are stationed at Rafik Hariri International Airport in case the staff carried out a strike.
The 28 pilots, according to Houmani, have been hired from Qatar Airways and another Arab airline.
“We will hold a general assembly very soon and discuss all our options,” Houmani said.
He claimed that MEA did not comply with the requests of the pilots.
“There are three basic demands and none of them have been met,” Houmani said.
But one source stressed that not all pilots are in favor of any strike because they realize that neither the national unity government nor the political parties sympathize with their demands.
The source added that the company has met the majority of the conditions of the pilots, noting that the salaries of these pilots went from $15 million to more than $20 million in a period of 18 months.
“MEA was very generous with the pilots. If anyone has good intentions then they should have sorted out this problem without the need for escalation,” the source said.
The source insisted that no one supports the demands of the pilots but expressed fear that some of the pilots may have a hidden agenda.
“We can’t understand who will benefit from any harm that befalls on MEA. Apart from the 5,000 staff under the payroll of the company, any harm on MEA will have a grave impact on the economy, airport, hotels and tourism,” the source said.
They added that the salary of a pilot after the new raise has reached over $13,000 a month.
In addition, the company has exempted the newly graduated pilots who borrowed money from MEA from paying the interest rate on the loans.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=115215#ixzz0o vsO9WcX
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: Lebanon News :: Middle East News :: The Daily Star - Lebanon)