Pilots at Portugal’s TAP call off strike

The pilots’ union at Portugal’s carrier TAP said on Friday that it was calling off a four-day strike planned to begin later in the day.

“The leadership of the Civil Aviation Pilot Union (SPAC) has decided to call off the strike planned for December 9 to 12,” the union said in a statement.

It said that during talks with TAP management it found “a serious partner interested in a balanced solution to include the pilots in the privatisation process,” it said.

The union had called the strike seeking better conditions and a say in the airline’s privatisation.

It had planned to strike from December 9-12 and again from January 3 to 6.

The planned TAP selloff is part of a seven billion euro ($9.4 billion) privatisation programme that was a key element of a 78-billion-euro bailout agreed in May with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.