Brussels, 14/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 14 October, air traffic controllers protested in front of the European Parliament against the Single Sky 2+ package and its impact that they fear could deregulate their profession.
Following the appeal made by the European Transport Workers Federation (ETF), 200 of them from ten or so different European countries travelled to Brussels to protest, despite the fact that MEPs on the transport committee (TRAN) are meeting up this Monday. Although member states have already given a frosty welcome to this new European Commission package, particularly Germany and France, traffic controllers are also counting on Parliament to “freeze” these proposals and, “stop the dogmatic liberalisation of the ATM industry” that will have a negative effect on jobs and working conditions. The Political Secretary of the ETF, François Ballestero, explained that “the ETF refuses that the public service role of the ATM industry in Europe is put at risk by unbundling support services, which, in many countries, are part of the core business of the Air Navigation Service Providers”. The ETF also opposes the mandatory separation of supervisory and service provision. It considers that emphasis should be on implementation of the Single Sky 2 package before proceeding to further reform. (MD/trans.fl)