Air Austral pilots accept loss of income to “save” their jobs

The Air Austral airline pilots’ union announced Thursday that it had agreed to a pay cut to “save [leurs] jobs” within the framework of the recovery plan of the Réunion company in crisis.

“The Air Austral section of the national union of airline pilots (…) has assumed its responsibilities” by signing a “collective performance agreement” with management in the interests of “the sustainability of the company and the safeguarding of the jobs in Réunion”. , according to a press release.

The airline, which connects Reunion Island with mainland France and several destinations in the Indian Ocean, including Mayotte, is a major local employer with more than 800 employees.

For two years, pilots will not receive the thirteenth month and will have six days less leave, the president of SNPL Air Austral, Vivien Rousseau, told AFP.

No month 13, 6 days less vacation

The threshold for overtime has also been raised, “technically” depriving pilots of the ability to earn overtime, even though it typically represents a “large portion” of their income, he said.

To “save our jobs,” “we are going to work more to earn less,” summarized Vivien Rousseau.

The cost of employing 115 pilots by Air Austral, estimated at 60 million euros over two years, will thus be reduced by 5.3 million, he indicated.

According to the union’s calculations, pilots will have lost “45% of their purchasing power between 2017 and 2026.”

Vivien Rousseau denounces the attitude of the majority shareholder “who conditioned his contribution of new money to a 10% reduction in his payroll.”

On March 7, shareholders approved a recovery plan that provided for the injection of an additional 10 million euros in capital and required “efforts” on the part of staff.

Air Austral, which emerged heavily indebted from the Covid-19 crisis, benefited from multiple public aid before being restructured at the beginning of 2023 with the contribution of private capital, while the State abandoned 100 million euros of debt.

Air Austral is now 55% owned by the company RunAir, which brings together investors from Réunion, and 44% by Sematra, a mixed economy company (region, department, Caisse des Dépôts) that previously owned 99%. of the company.