Spanish airline Vueling facing three months of strikes by cabin crew members

Spanish airline Vueling is facing three months of crippling strike action following the call by their main union Stavla for stoppages.

The strike announced on Saturday, October 22 will see cabin crew members walk out every Friday, Sunday and Monday between November 1 and January 31.

The crew will also stop work on November 1, 6, 8, 24 and 31 of December of this year and January 5, 2023, all key holiday dates in Spain.

A spokesperson for Stavla told LaVanguardia that the strike is a result of “the absence of significant progress in the negotiation of the collective agreement and the lack of any real intention demonstrated by Vueling to resolve wage demands of cabin crew”.

They added that the union has called for a pay rise of 13.4 per cent saying: “The increase is only meant to adjust the wage levels of the collective agreement at the current level of life.”

Stavla has said they are prepared to continue with the strikes indefinitely if there is no resolution.

Vueling’s owners IAG have accused the union of being impractical and claim to have already provided staff with a 6.5 per cent pay rise, which was negotiated with the union CC.OO.

That was based on the inflation rate in 20121, however, Stavla were not party to that agreement.

.Vueling’s management has called on the union to build the company’s future together saying that the demands of Stavla amount to an increase in wages of 33 per cent by 2025. The head of Vueling Marco Sansavini said that is not affordable and such increases would effectively price the company out of the market, and that would lead to severe job losses.

Stavla has said that the only way they will call off the strike is for the company to grant to 13.4 per cent increase called for, which IAG claims is over and above the 6.5 per cent already awarded.

Spanish airline Vueling, facing three months of strikes, are not the only airline affected this year. However, most have resolved their differences and have agreed packages that have seen staff return to work.

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