Lebanese pilots at the Middle East Airlines will delay by two hours all MEA flights departing from Beirut on Friday, to protest against new contracts that increase working hours and cut benefits, their union said Wednesday.
The delays will begin at 6:00am Friday and last 24 hours, reported the Daily Star on Thursday.
The Lebanese Pilots Association (LPA), which represents both MEA and TransMediterranean Airways pilots, said that the planned delays were a protest against the company’s refusal to withdraw the new contracts, which are being introduced as part of a restructuring plan to prepare the company for privatization.
The unions representing MEA ground staff and cabin crews have already reached a compromise with the airline under which their new contracts were amended.
But the LPA wants the new contract plans withdrawn entirely and the old contracts maintained until the two sides sit down and work out an agreement, said the paper.
The LPA delayed flights for one hour for a day of protest last week, but the airline refused to cave in – Albawaba.com
