Streik blant flygerne i Garuda fører til skummel og lite tillitvekkende løsning - Curt Lewis

Garuda Indonesia to employ Air Force pilots to anticipate strike

A Garuda Indonesia aircraft takes off from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali in this undated photograph. (Antara/Fikri Yusuf)

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has said it will employ pilots of Indonesia's Air Force if the airline's pilots follow through on their strike threat.

Garuda Indonesia's vice president corporate secretary Hengki Heriandono said in Jakarta recently that it was an anticipatory step in response to the threat made by the airline's pilots.

"We have made a contingency plan in case they really go ahead with their strike action," Hengki said as reported by tribunnews.com, adding that the cooperation with the Air Force was to ensure that the airline could continue to operate as normal.

The Garuda Indonesia Pilots Association (APG) and the Garuda Labor Union (Sekarga) had initially threatened to strike unless the government stepped in to help resolve "managerial problems" at the flag carrier, namely that they were allegedly causing a continued decline in the company's performance.

Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar pandjaitan said on Tuesday that the pilots had agreed to cancel their strike plan as their representatives continued to talk with representatives of both the airline management and the government to discuss their demand.

Hengki said the cooperation with the Air Force also had the long-term objective of "utilizing" manpower, particularly pilots, who were working for the force. (bbn)