Mexican airline, attendants extend labor talks
June 1st, 2008 | by admin |MEXICO CITY, June 1 (Reuters) - Flight attendants atairline Aeromexico extended talks with the company on Sunday ina wage dispute that could ground around 300 aircraft ofMexico’s largest carrier, union sources said.
Aeromexico, owned by investors headed by Citigroup’s (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research)local bank Banamex, flies to a dozen cities in the UnitedStates and a handful in Europe, Asia and South America. InMexico, it has more than 20 domestic routes.
Union members agreed to a 4.5 percent raise, up from thecompany’s offer of 4.25 percent, but talks were stuck over asavings plan that the union said could hurt employee benefits.
The nearly 1,500 flight attendants of Aeromexico, which wasprivatized last year, originally demanded a 5 percent wageincrease.
Union leaders still were negotiating into Sunday morning,beyond the original 12:01 a.m local time (0501 GMT) strikedeadline.
The first flights in Mexico likely to be affected by anystrike action would be around 7 a.m. local time (1200 GMT). Thecarrier does not normally operate during the night. (Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Editing by Vicki Allen)
