An International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) delegation has successfully defended aviation workers’ rights at this week’s 18th meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Air Transport Regulation Panel (ATRP/18) in Montreal this week – pushing back on renewed proposals to liberalise the global aviation market with no worker protections.
The ITF delegation, joined some ICAO member states to make clear: there is no room for a new phase of liberalisation without clear measures that protect workers against a race to the bottom in employment standards.
With the panel considering potential frameworks for conventions that attempt to deregulate aviation globally over the coming decades, ITF underlined that labour rights must be embedded in any proposals. Delegates won agreement that any future liberalisation proposals must include strong labour and social protections as a core part of any instrument or convention – not as add-ons or afterthoughts.
“Our participation ensures that our jobs are protected in spite of the attempts to lift the existing protections for aviation workers,” said Robert Hengster, International and Policy Officer Aviation at ver.di and Chair of the ITF Ground Staff Sub-Committee.
“This was my first time representing aviation workers at ICAO – and it’s clear how critical our presence is,” said Sandrine Nikolic-Fuss, President of kapers (Switzerland) and Vice Chair of the ETF Civil Aviation Committee. “We need to build on this momentum and make sure that at the next ICAO Assembly, workers’ voices are not only heard but shape the outcome.”
“We had a very experienced and effective team, lobbying for aviation workers’ interests and working in coordination with IFALPA representatives. Our historic participation in the ICAO ATRP has strengthened,” said Gabriel Mocho Rodriguez, ITF Representative to ICAO. “Our work at ATRP isn’t just about stopping harmful proposals – it’s about setting a new standard for the future of aviation: one built on decent jobs, strong labour standards, and safer skies.”
