Portugal's Supreme Court orders TAP Air Portugal to pay back wages to 1,200 cabin crew members
Civil Aviation Resources Network, December 19, 2024: According to Reuters, the Portuguese Supreme Court ruled that 1,200 short-term contract crew members of Air Portugal who were reinstated after being fired are entitled to back pay. This ruling could expose Air Portugal to losses of up to 300 million euros.
According to the ruling document of December 12 obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, the Supreme Court requires Air Portugal to pay wages according to the standards of regular employees from the time the crew members are hired. This ruling applies to flight personnel who initially signed a one-year contract in 2020 and 2021 and were subsequently renewed by Air Portugal for three years.
The court believes that although short-term contract workers perform the same work as regular employees, Air Portugal has avoided paying higher wages, overtime pay and other allowances through contracts.
This ruling is "uniform" and provides a legal basis for courts to handle similar cases in the future. At present, dozens of crew members have filed lawsuits against Air Portugal. Ricardo Peñaroas, president of the Civil Aviation Pilots Union (SNPVAC), said the ruling may also apply to hundreds of cases involving contracts signed in 2006.
This means that the ruling may affect up to 2,000 employees. Since the salary of permanent employees is usually twice that of short-term contract workers, TAP Air Portugal may face economic losses of 200 million to 300 million euros.