Government ousts union leader from board of Aerolíneas Argentinas
Pablo Biró, leader of the APLA pilots’ union, ousted from board of flagship airline; Decision made during shareholders’ meeting, after firm argued union leader had repeatedly acted against the interests of the company.
Aerolíneas Argentinas decided on Wednesday October 16 to oust Pablo Biró, the leader of the Airline Pilots’ Association union (APLA), from his post in the company’s board of directors.
The state airline issued a press release explaining that the decision was made upon request by the main shareholder: the government.
President Javier Milei's administration, speaking via Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni, highlighted that Argentina's flagship airline had seen 13 aviation strikes over the last nine months, resulting in the stranding of 100,000 passengers and financial losses in excess of US$20 million.
Milei wants to sell off Aerolíneas and attempted to include it on a list of state companies to be sold off in his so-called ‘Ley de Bases’ mega-reform bill.
However, during negotiations to secure the bill’s passage through Congress, the administration pulled the firm from the slate of firms up for sale.
The government’s latest move comes after weeks of conflict with unions of pilots, airport security personnel and other aeronautical unions.
Aviation workers are demanding salary increases amid falling purchasing power and incomes.
Unions had rejected in August as "provocative" a single-digit offer proposed by the government.
Last month, Milei declared air transport services to be "essential" by decree, obliging unions to guarantee 50 percent of services in the event of strikes.
Legal action?
Transport Secretary Franco Mogetta anticipated that, following Birö's exit, the government will take legal action against unions.
In response, Biró, who is also a director in the company through the Shared Property Programme, challenged the decision and plans to file a suit in court to reverse it.
“Aerolíneas Argentinas, upon request by the government of all Argentines, has decided to oust Biró, who kept harming the company and taking over 100,000 passengers hostage. Starting today, Biró is no longer part of the board of directors of Aerolíneas Argentinas,” stated Mogetta in a statement.
“Biró and the union hogged the representation in the board of directors, but the post cannot necessarily be taken by the union, any worker can replace that quota in the board," he continued.
“The company has no risk of stopping operations after expelling Biró. Aerolíneas Argentinas operates normally,” added Mogetta.
The official anticipated that “court action will be taken to financially compensate for the damage caused by industrial action. The losses were in the amount of US$20 million in sales and US$4 million in operating expenses. That court action was approved today at the meeting."
Biró was reported in September by Security Minister Patricia Bullrich due to alleged unlawful acts related with extortive threats.
The alleged incidents took place after the government’s announcement to declare air transport as essential.
In his statement, Biró stated that the situation in the sector would be further complicated by his removal.
In a context of growing tension, the Air Navigators union, headed by Juan Pablo Brey, confirmed a strike scheduled for October 30.
In this respect, the APLA issued a release establishing that the decision against Biró comes in addition to "a long series of hostile actions against aviation unions."
Due to that, aviation workers and Biró “have decided to take legal action to challenge said shareholders’ meeting, reaffirming their commitment to the defence of labour rights in the air sector, with the backing of international solidarity and the ITF International Transport Workers’ Federation."
--TIMES/PERFIL