According to a press release from STTAMP, "the hearing at the Arbitration Court to define the minimum services for the announced strike" took place, which includes workers at SPdH - Portuguese Handling Services (Groundforce).

The Court then decided to decree minimum services "for all flights imposed by critical situations relating to the safety of people and property, including ambulance flights, emergency movements understood as declared flight situations, namely for technical or meteorological reasons and others that, by their nature, make flight assistance absolutely unavoidable".

The minimum services also include all military and state flights (national or foreign) and also "all flights that were already underway at the time the strike began in accordance with their initial planning, and whose destinations are national airports assisted by SPdH".

It was also decreed that "on both days, 31 August and 1 September 2024, for the Azores, work must be provided to ensure the first landing and take-off on the route between the Mainland and the Region, and for Madeira, the work activity necessary for the first landing and take-off between this Region and the Mainland must also be guaranteed, in addition to the work inherent to the first landing and take-off of the flight between the islands, more specifically, between Funchal and Porto Santo, must be maintained".

Taking this decision into account, the unions must now "designate the workers needed to ensure the minimum services defined herein up to 48 hours before the start of the strike period, and SPdH must do so if it is not informed of this designation in due time".

The Court recalls that "the use of workers who are participating in strikes is only lawful if these minimum services cannot be provided by non-participating workers under the normal conditions of their work".

STTAMP says it regrets that "it has had to come to this" and reiterates that "it will be up to the management of Menzies to assume full responsibility for this strike because at no time did it present any alternative or proposal that could avoid the strike".

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