On 3 February, Hungarian airline Malev was grounded, and the winding up procedure has now begun. The 2000 employees have been told that there is no money to pay the airline’s debts to them. The Hungarian Government, despite being Malev’s principal shareholder, refuses to offer any help.
At a meeting at Malev’s headquarters on 20 April, Jenő Varga, the government assigned Liquidator of Malev, announced to union leaders that there were no funds available to cover money owed to the 2000 employees laid off during the preceding weeks. The Hungarian Government has been silent since the grounding of Malev – its position is unknown.
The Hungarian Pilots’ union, HUNALPA, and their former Malev colleagues have emphasised that they are ready to take any legitimate measure to draw attention to illegalities occurring in the management of Malev’s wind up, and to the irresponsible behavior of the Hungarian Government.
The HUNALPA Board stated “We, Hungarian Pilots, have been committed to Hungarian Aviation for the whole of our professional lives. We declare that we will not tolerate an illegal wind up of Malev, and we call upon its principal shareholder – the Government – to take its responsibilities towards the company’s employees. We are preparing to take legal action to stop these abuses.”
Debating these worrying developments at its recent Conference, the members of the European Cockpit Association adopted the following statement:
“The European Cockpit Association, on behalf of European professional pilots, deplores the shameful treatment of the former employees of the Hungarian airline Malev by the Hungarian Government.
ECA calls on the Government as principal shareholder to take a step forward and to guarantee that Malev’s closure is conducted in full compliance with Hungarian and European law, that it meets its financial obligations to its former employees, and that it respects their fundamental rights.”
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For further information, please contact:
Philip von Schöppenthau, ECA Secretary General, Tel: +32 2 705 32 93
Nico Voorbach, ECA President, Tel: +32 32 491 378 982
Download the press release here.
