Portuguese prime minister hopes TAP strike won't hinder concession

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Monday said he hopes a 10-day strike planned by TAP pilots won't hinder the airline's concession.

"I hope the strike won't have the most undesirable result of all, which would be to not even be able to go ahead with the privatization of TAP, not being able to defend employment at TAP and its such important role for the national economy," Pedro Passos Coelho told journalists at the Electricity Museum in Lisbon.

He added that the government would "not interfere in that process" and said the pilots should "think carefully" about their decision to hold a strike, pointing out that "a strike by TAP pilots...will only harm TAP" and will "affect the national economy."

His comments came after pilots recently announced they will stage a strike from May 1 to May 10, in a bid to demand a stake of up to 20 per cent in the company when it is privatized.

On Monday, the airline's head Fernando Pinto warned the strike would cost the company a million euros per day in cancellations of reservations.

However the country's Pilots of Civil Aviation Syndicate (SPAC) accused TAP of being "completely inflexible in the negotiations" and has not backtracked on the decision to strike.

The concession of TAP is part of Portugal's privatization plan to help reduce the country's high debt load. Endit