Pilots from Copa Airlines Colombia, as part of an ongoing national labor dispute between airline operators and pilots, have rejected working overtime hours until they receive increased pay, their union announced Thursday.
According to the union, 131 pilots of Panamanian-owned Copa Colombia were taking part in a “zero overtime” movement, which comes amid a 20-month long labor dispute involving 29 of 207 pilots from LAN Colombia and currently involving nearly 50 percent of pilots from the Colombian airline Avianca.
MORE: Pilots’ industrial action will not affect LAN schedule
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In the current dispute, Copa Airlines rushed to assure the public it was working on resolving the dispute as fast as possible and maintain operation of its 10 domestic routes in Colombia and 10 international destinations.
“Copa Colombia confirms … its intention to reach an agreement beneficial to the parties and one that at the same time ensures the company’s sustainability,” it said in a statement.
Last week Colombia’s largest airline Avianca partly ended a similar dispute, which affected operations, arriving at an agreement with 57 percent of its pilots to deliver an 11 percent pay increase, but other pilots represented by union Acdac remain on strike.
Sources
- Los pilotos de aviación colombianos se sublevan (NotiAmerica.com)
- Copa’s airlines Colombia pilots refuse overtime amid dispute (Reuters)