Turkish Airlines union warns of plan to reduce pilot wages

Turkey’s national carrier plans to cut pilot wages by half and reduce salaries for other employees, a labor union said, to help shore up finances after most of its fleet was grounded during the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkish Airlines plans to “undo” the more than 50% wage boost for pilots in 2018, when the local currency depreciated 28% against the dollar, according to Ali Kemal Tatlibal, chairman of the Hava-Is union.

“We’re ready to talk, but we won’t sign anything that our members don’t approve,” he said by phone.

In an internal email to staff seen by Bloomberg, Turkish Airlines said stakeholders and workers will have to take “permanent measures” to cut costs. The company told the union that protecting jobs may be possible only through a new wage arrangement, according to the email.

Turkish Airlines didn’t respond to calls and emails seeking comment on Wednesday. Hava-Is represents almost 75% of the airline’s nearly 30,000 workers.

The company’s shares fell as much as 2.3% to 12.23 liras in Istanbul, the most in more than a month.

“We’ve received no formal proposal yet, but what we understand is that management basically wants to scrap collective-agreement terms on wages and social rights,” Tatlibal said. “We don’t want the company to go bankrupt, but savings from staff should be the final resort.”

Moody’s Investors Service this month predicted that the airline, which says it flies to more countries in the world than any other carrier, will have 60% less passenger traffic in 2020 in a best-case scenario.

Turkish Airlines has $1.1 billion in debt repayments due this year from its total of $9.6 billion, according to its website.