On Thursday, Dec. 26, the workers’ unions representing SPdH/Menzies employees, who manage on-the-ground operations at Portuguese airport, called off the strike scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 after signing agreements with the company’s shareholders, which the government has validated.
The point of the strike
The strike had been called on Dec. 12 over the tender for the attribution of ground-handling licenses, which the Lusa news agency reported favoured the Spanish consortium Clece/South, casting doubts on the future of SPdH/Menzies workers.
The unions had warned that the preliminary decision by the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) did not guarantee the transfer of jobs to the future license holder.
In a joint statement, the Aviation and Airport Workers’ Union (SITAVA) and the Handling, Aviation and Airport Workers’ Union (STHAA) said the agreements reached with SPdH/Menzies and TAP Air Portugal offered guarantees of stability and future employment.
Today [Dec. 26], following intense negotiations with SPdH and its shareholders (Menzies and TAP, in this case, duly validated by the Government), we can announce that we have signed two agreements,” the syndicates said in the statement.
Before it was called off, an arbitration tribunal had ordered that minimum services be maintained during the strike, including ground-handling support for state, military, emergency, humanitarian, and rescue flights, as well as essential safety operations.
What does the future hold?
The government had already extended the handling licences until May 19, 2026, but it is “concerned with this instability,” Fernando Henriques from SITAVA told Lusa.
The unions said that the arrangement now signed with TAP, the Portuguese state-owned airline currently undergoing a complex privatisation process, focuses on ensuring workers’ stability. TAP is one of SPdH’s shareholders.
The agreement with SPdH/Menzies predicts the immediate negotiations for a new Company Agreement, prioritising salaries.
The conditions are therefore in place for us to calmly await the ANAC Final Report for the allocation of licences,” the unions added.
Of the approximately 3,700 SPdH/Menzies employees, around 2,000 are directly affected by this tender.
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