Africa-Press – Angola. TAAG, Linhas Aéreas de Angola, is not laying off employees, nor is there any reason to talk about this situation, as it is premature, because the company defends a workforce that is, in essence, made up of capable, competent Angolans that feel proud of the service provided and the goals set, said the company’s PCA, Ana Major.
Speaking to the press after a meeting with the Ombudsman, Florbela Araújo, he said that, currently, the number of workers at the Angolan airline is made up of national employees, with a total of 99.7 percent, and only 0.3 percent of expatriates.
Ana Major said that there have been many questions around the company’s restructuring process, a process that has not yet started. She clarified that the improvement of the carrier is underway, based on the context in which the entire reform will be carried out.
“Up until now we have been in a phase of surviving, stopping bleeding, so that we can bring in revenue for the restructuring process”, he stressed, adding that the difficult context and history of TAAG, aggravated by Covid-19, makes sure that the company to continue and be a legacy for the next generations.
He recognized the legitimacy of workers being concerned about jobs, due to the remodeling, and reassured: “what we have done is to communicate more and be closer to the workforce so that all the steps planned can convey the resolution of concerns” .
He reaffirmed that what has been happening on social media in relation to the TAAG logo is not true. He exemplified the case of the Boeing 777 that made the flight during the inauguration ceremony of the President and Vice-President of the Republic.
He added that these planes are not TAAG’s, but were leased to replace the aircraft that are undergoing maintenance: “They have nothing to do with our fleet. They are temporarily serving us, and serving us well, because, otherwise, we would be accumulating unnecessary losses”.
He also said that in due course the Government will have the privatization of TAAG in its plans, admitting that no one would invest the way it is. “We need to work on valuing the airline, so that it can be privatized. Even if it is privatized, I do not believe that the State will sell all the capital. It will always be a partial sale, but that, we are not the administration, but the government”.
With regard to TAAG’s relationship with the workers’ unions, he informed that an agreement was signed on longevity, security, solidity of exchange, and not precarious situations of any solution that will be implemented. “We won’t be able to do anything without the union on our side and working with us”.
Serenity of the workers
The Justice Department requested the meeting within the scope of the duty of cooperation stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola and the Statute of the Ombudsman, due to the issues raised by citizens, the insecurity they feel, motivated by the reorganization plan of TAAG.
From the explanations received, Florbela Araújo appealed for calm and serenity, because it is a process of transformation that is intended, so that TAAG comes out of the “abyss”, accentuated by the damage caused by the pandemic (Covid-19), and achieves on a par with other African civil aviation companies.
Florbela Araújo informed that this issue of workers will be dealt with gradually. According to the provider, some say they are being fired, in a process in which others are not employees. She acknowledged, on the other hand, that there are former employees who have a contract, but because they are of retirement age, they have been treated with sensitivity and giving possibilities to others.
He said that he also received information that there are not many expatriates: “They also described other situations and it is not justified to have some delegations in other countries that only harm TAAG and most of them with foreign workers with very high salaries”.
The Ombudsman stressed that she is satisfied with the explanations given by the TAAG management. “When someone comes to get rid of addictions, this person is not good (for the injured). Therefore, we encourage them to continue on this path, because, as Angolans, we want TAAG to be as big as our country, Angola”, he reinforced.
The meeting is the result of complaints about various situations related to the rights of users and TAAG services, whose degree of cooperation with the Ombudsman in these matters is far from desirable.
In addition to the concern regarding the degree of cooperation with the Ombudsman, other issues were highlighted, in particular satisfaction with the services provided, information on possible dismissals of national workers for the benefit of expatriates, as well as the exercise of freedom of association and workers’ right to information.
The Ombudsman’s Office deems it necessary to develop mechanisms for greater collaboration within the institutions, safeguarding the rights, freedoms and guarantees of citizens, users of TAAG services and workers.
Florbela Araújo suggested that there should be greater cooperation, designation of focal points, increasingly improvement of services to be provided in customer service, punctuality of flights and their regularity.
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