The demonstration took place at the Guarulhos airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil and was led by ITF union FENTAC/CUT (Federação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Aviação Civil).
It coincided with the launch of the annual pay negotiations, and the union set a deadline of 1 December for them to be completed.
The fear that long hours and the use of unskilled workers represent a significant safety risk to passengers and crew has prompted more than 70,000 FENTAC/CUT members to participate in the union’s ‘Professional fatigue, flight at risk’ campaign.
FENTAC/CUT president Sergio Dias said: "The exploitation by airline companies is increasing because they are driven by profit. They fail to take into account workers’ layovers, exhausting shifts and poor labour conditions.
“It is time that all civil aviation workers react against this exploitation, which is all too common in Brazil and Latin America."
Antonio Rodriguez Fritz, ITF Americas regional secretary, said that the ITF represented more than 657,000 civil aviation workers, all of whom were demanding better security policies. He described as very worrying the lack of interest in security in Brazil and elsewhere and warned that the ITF and its unions would continue to fight together for a safe and efficient civil aviation industry, where workers enjoy fair labour conditions.
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