Majority of Avianca pilots in Colombia call strike over pay disparity

More than half of Avianca’s Colombian pilots voted Friday to hold an indefinite strike amid a dispute over wages and benefits, the president of the union representing the flight crews said. A work stoppage by the pilots could seriously affect the airline’s operations both domestically and internationally. Captain Jaime Hernandez, president of the Colombian Association of Civil Aviators, said the strike will begin between Sept. 20 and Sept. 27. “We are going to define zero hour,” he said after a general assembly at which the pilots voted to suspend work. Hernandez said ACDAC members want their salaries to be in line with those received by Avianca pilots in other countries, who earn 30 to 70% more than local pilots. Avianca said it had presented ACDAC leaders with more than 20 proposals to improve the benefits Colombian pilots receive. In March, it agreed wages with another union of crew members an agreement to raise wages, the airline said. “Avianca categorically rejects the call for a strike made by the (ACDAC) as an illegal route that affects customers,” Avianca said. About 700 of the nearly 1,300 Avianca crew are affiliated with the ACDAC, making it the carrier’s biggest union. “We want to end wage discrimination,” he said. The union also wants to reduce the workload of the pilots.<br/>