Roberto Schisano, Alitalia's managing director, continues to be thwarted by his pilots, and has only achieved a guarantee of three strike-free months with no salary concessions in sight.
The government intervened in March to begin a consultation document which was finalised and presented to management and unions in early July. This calls for six months with no strikes, no wage increases and L131 billion ($81.3 million) in savings over two years brought about by increased productivity.
At presstime, however, the pilots were refusing to sign the document, unilaterally offering three strike-free months but no further concessions. Alitalia pilots fly an average of 485 hours a year, with an average annual wage of L247 million.
Unconfirmed financial figures in the Italian financial paper Il Sole show pilot unrest and their refusal to negotiate is biting into the carrier's restructuring plans. In the first five months of 1995, Alitalia had an operating loss of L187 billion - L26 billion more than the operating budget, although L212 billion less than during the same period in 1994.
During the 1995 period the carrier's labour costs totalled L811 billion, which is L3 billion over the restructuring plan, but strikes cost an estimated L50 billion up to June. An airline insider says the figures are 'close to accurate'.
A small relief for Alitalia's management is the offloading of its 56.2 per cent stake in Aeroporti di Roma to Cofiri, part of the IRI state holding company which controls Alitalia. Alitalia will receive an estimated L400 billion for its stake in the Rome airports operator.
Source: Airline Business
