Iberia pilots call off strike to allow for arbitration

Sepla pilots union called off their Iberia strike on Friday that had been affecting more than 100 flights per week on Mondays and Fridays after the government agreed to act as a mediator between the pilots and the carrier.

Deputy PM Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría made the announcement after Friday’s Cabinet meeting, saying that Iberia has reprogrammed the flights that would have been affected on May 4 and 7.

Since last year, Sepla and Iberia have been at odds over the airline’s introduction of the low-cost carrier, Iberia Express, which began operating last month. Sepla union officials threatened to continue their Monday/Friday strike action every week until July.

For their part, Iberia officials also canceled their plans to cut the pilots’ salaries by 20 percent as they had announced as a cost-cutting savings measure for the troubled airline. Iberia said that it won’t nominate anyone as a candidate for arbitrator but instead let the government appoint an official.

“This strike is costing everyone a lot of money,” Sáenz de Santamaría said. Sepla claims that the creation of Iberia Express violates the terms of the pilots’ collective bargaining agreement, a charge which Iberia officials deny.

Iberia estimates that the strike is costing the carrier some three million euros a day. Ticket holders for dates on which flights had been canceled will still be able to use them.