International Latam flights could be affected if LAN Express crew members go on strike

Latam Airlines said Monday morning that the collective bargaining process continues with the LAN Express Crew Union, which announced a strike starting on Tuesday.

Latam cargo workers threaten strike on Tuesday.

In a statement, the airline said, “Latam has relaxed its proposal at the negotiating table, agreeing to the main requirement of the union, which is the work shift system. Although the law in Chile, where negotiations are taking place, allows for a shift of 10 days worked by four days of rest, the company agreed to offer a shift of seven days of work for four days of rest.”

The proposal was delivered in writing by the company and will be voted on by Chile’s National Assembly, since it affects national labor laws, on Monday afternoon. Following the Assembly vote, union members will vote.

Last week, the Cabin Crew Union of LAN Express, a subsidiary of the Chile-based Latam Airlines group, said workers would strike on Tuesday after mediation with the government failed to produce a new labor contract.

Although the labor dispute focuses on labor issues in Chile, a strike would likely affect all of the airlines operations in Latin America as well as in North America and Europe.

“During the mandatory mediation, some secondary agreements were reached, however there were no proposals that could be approved in the two most relevant areas,” the union said.

The union said that two points of contention were the duration of rotations and salaries of new employees.