Iberia pilots launch strike

June 19, 2001 Posted: 1659 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- Passengers with Spain's Iberia airline are facing chaos after its pilots went on strike in a dispute over pay.

Iberia, the country's largest airline, was forced to cancel nearly a third of its 1,007 flights scheduled for Tuesday.

The stoppage is the first in a series of 10 walkouts planned over the peak summer season and comes after contract talks broke down on Monday between management and pilots' union Sepla, which is demanding pay increases and better pensions.

Other strikes are planned by Iberia's 1,800 pilots on each Tuesday in July and all the Mondays in August, affecting both international and domestic flights.

CNN's Al Goodman said from Madrid airport: "The public in Spain are becoming grimly accustomed to strikes by Iberia in the summer."

"There were few people lining up at Iberia check-in counters Tuesday morning, where they would normally be several ranks deep."

"The strike is the first by Iberia's pilot's since it was privatized and the company says the present row could lead to it losing $100m, canceling aircraft orders and cutting jobs."

The planned stoppages are the latest in a run of labour disputes at the Spanish carrier.

The pilots were demanding a reversal of pay cuts put in place six years ago when the airline was close to bankruptcy and which they claim cost them $140m. They also want above-inflation pay hikes.

Iberia's management has accused the pilots of pushing unrealistic demands and calling for pay increases of 20 percent without offering anything in return, Spanish state radio reported.

The airline, a member of the eight airline OneWorld alliance, says it is impossible to meet the pay demands as it would lead the Spanish carrier into an operative loss this year, the Associated Press news agency said.

Sepla pilots have agreed to provide a minimum service, which is demanded by Spain's government.

The dispute, which has been running since January, has rocked Iberia's financial performance since it made its stock market debut in April when the state sold most of its 54 percent stake in the carrier.

Around half of Iberia's shares now trade on the markets, with around 40 percent being held by a group of institutional partners, the largest being British Airways (BAY) and bank Caja Madrid.

The strike follows a similar dispute at Europe's largest airline, Lufthansa.

The German flag carrier said last week that it was cutting its earnings forecast for 2001 to cover the cost of a strike by pilots and pay rises they won.

Lufthansa said the pay settlement would add 125 million to it expenses on top of the 75 million from three strikes held in May, that crippled its schedules and stranded tens of thousands of passengers.

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