Italy’s ITA Airways is brand-new, but they are already dealing with some unsavory issues.
According to reports, about 50 female flight attendants protested the loss of their jobs and the reduction in pay under the new company. CNN. And they did so by wearing and then removing Alitalia uniforms, all of them stripping into matching undergarments.
Alitalia is out of business. All women who worked for Alitalia were previously employed by the company. CBS News.
After a series of financial difficulties, the airline flew its last flight on October 14. After buying Alitalia, ITA started flying on October 15. There were 10,000 Alitalia workers, but ITA had less than 3,000.
The demonstration was to protest their job losses and protest against the few selected and given contracts to work at ITA.
“Trade unions say that those who have stayed are being paid less,”CNN has more. They add that flight attendants say they’ve also lost seniority and are no longer told far in advance details about when and where they will be working.
Alfredo Altavilla is the president of ITA. He says that airline employees have agreed to these working conditions. “a thing of national shame,”CNN reported.
“Bargaining over contracts is more than finished. They are all on board, and they have signed the contract that we sent them,”He told one Italian Outlet.
The good news is that for paying passengers, little has changed. They may eventually notice newer planes and crew uniforms as well as updated lounge furniture.
