Algeria: Airports are completely paralyzed by maintenance workers strike

Algeria – Maintenance workers at Algeria’s national airline company, Air Algerie, began a surprise strike action demanding higher wages.

The strike led to the suspension of all domestic and international flights run by the national airline departing from all the Algerian airports.

The maintenance staff members work for the Algerian state run Air Algerie Company, as 25 flights of the national airline departing from all the Algerian airports have been suspended because of the strike. The company’s management began negotiations with the staff to restore service to the various airports in Algeria.

The meeting, which brought together officials from the Ministry of Transport and representatives of the National Union of Aircraft Maintenance Technicians at the level of Air Algerie, resulted in the suspension of the strike. A joint committee was set up to study all the demands made by the technicians, as well as the new wage scale that will start from January 2018.  The company has been suffering for years from a financial catastrophic situation resulting from its loss of market shares to the competition imposed by foreign companies, especially on flights to Algeria such as Aigel Azur, Air France and some low-cost French Competitive companies.