Landmark victory for aviation workers in Yemen

January 5, 2012

Workers employed by Yemen’s national airline won a ground-breaking victory last month when the government agreed to suspend the company’s chairman. They had been on strike alleging he was involved in corruption.

The Yemenia Airways workers, represented by the ITF-affiliated Yemeni Aviation Engineers and two other unions - the Yemen Pilots’ and Flight Engineers’ Union and the Employers’ and Workers’ Syndicate of Yemen Airways - ended a two-day strike on 21 December. They had been demanding the dismissal of the airline’s chairman Captain Abdel-Khalq al-Qadhi, alleging he misused the company’s assets, and calling for him to be brought to trial to face corruption charges.

However, several meetings with the minister of transport Khalid Alwazir and the country’s interim prime minister Mohammed Salim Basindawa led to a settlement, which included an agreement by the government to suspend Al-Qadhi. Many consider this a bold move as Al-Qadhi is President Ali Abdallah Saleh’s son-in-law.

The settlement will also see a committee set up to supervise company operations. One representative from each of the three unions will hold a seat on the committee, which will be led by Alwazir. Unions agreed to suspend their strike immediately while the administration pledged to refrain from taking “arbitrary measures” against the unions or workers.

Bilal Malkawi, ITF Arab World office commented: “This is a real achievement for our affiliate in Yemen, which has been facing tough times. It has been reported that Al-Qadhi was responsible for attempting to destroy civil aviation unions in Yemen. He is against all unions in Yemen and has wielded significant power. We believe that this victory should inspire other unions in the region who are fighting for their rights.”