Menzies came second in the competition for granting licenses to operate at the three main Portuguese airports, but the unions representing workers at this company consider that the proposal from the company that bought the bankrupt estate of the former Groundforce, is better and better structured than the one that the jury, led by ANAC, put in first placethe Spanish Clece/South.
And that’s what the Aviation and Airport Workers Union (Sitava) and the Handling, Aviation and Airport Workers Union (STHAA) told the Government this Tuesday at a meeting at the Ministry of Infrastructure. If it loses, Menzies SPdH, a company in which TAP is a shareholder, will see its operation in Portugal called into question.
But if the unions are worried about the future and their jobs, they argue that they have “very difficult to understand” the result of the preliminary report. The Government is concerned about the “instability” at airports that Menzies’ second place ranking could cause. And is working on a legal solution that can guarantee the safety and transferability of workers if Clece/South is confirmed as the winner of the license competition. Menzies will contest. The deadline ends this Wednesday.
“The Government is concerned about this instability, it does not want instability at the airports. Obviously it cannot interfere in the competition, but it is very concerned, and is monitoring the situation”, Fernando Henriques, from the Aviation and Airport Workers’ Union, said in statements to Lusa
Rui Souto Lopes, representative of STHAA, defends, in statements to Expresswhat whatThere is a set of solutions presented by Clece/South, and “inexplicably” best scored by the jury, which “are poorly founded” and out of touch with reality. And he emphasizes that it is important to defend the interests of workers inherited from SPdH, which is where knowledge and experience lies.
It was in the theoretical exercise of the number of equipment (material resources) and workers (human resources) to be allocated to travel assistance activities, cargo and mail assistance, and assistance to track operations that gave Clece/South the victory. Regarding the age and environmental quality of the equipment to be allocated to the operation and the experience and number of workers with contracts assigned to the operation, both received the same score.
The jury, in the preliminary report, ranked the Spanish group Clece/South, linked to the Iberia carrier universe, in first place, with a score of 95.2523. Menzies got a rating of 93.0526.
Unions warn of pressure on workers
The unions at this Tuesday’s meeting gave “a historical overview of the last three, four years”. And then they explained “the great concerns that affect the future of SPdH and the four thousand jobs”, highlighted Fernando Henriques. Menzies employs 3700 workers, but with temporary workers the numbers rise to around 4200.
The unions, he states, are concerned about “a set of commitments that have been made with Menzies for 2026 in relation to the future Company Agreement”, particularly in relation to salary tables. And he warns of “the enormous pressure” on workers, and of “the labor and social instability” that could mean the loss of licenses by Menzies.
These licenses will be granted for a period of seven years. The current ones end in November, but have already been extended for another year.
The Sitava director also accuses the Clece/South consortium of “ignoring the sector’s basic legislation, particularly with regard to labor issues”.