Skopje, 12 October 2023 (MIA) — The air traffic controllers strike that was to shut down the airports in Skopje and Ohrid on Thursday has been postponed, after government officials at a meeting with the Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers on Wednesday agreed to address the working conditions in the national air navigation service provider M-NAV.

According to a government press release, the agreement was reached at a meeting at the Ministry of Transport and Communications attended by representatives of the union and of the M-NAV management.

Meeting participants agreed that consultants should be hired to assess the working conditions and give recommendations for their improvement.

Also, the release said, their signed collective agreement and their pledge to raise the level of transparency proved "that a functional dialogue can make solutions possible."

"This responsible approach by all parties is the right way of solving open issues in the interest of the public," the release added.

Last week, the Macedonian Air Traffic Controllers' Association voiced its support for the strike announced by the Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers "because our working conditions are more than shameful for a company from this industry," the association said in a press release.

Air traffic controllers and assistant air traffic controllers, the release said, had to work with an outdated and technologically limited air traffic control system and in substandard conditions, with outdated air ventilation, cooling and heating systems that had not been serviced for many years, and water shortages and water restrictions.

In addition to better working conditions, air traffic controlers were also requesting the M-NAV management "stop their unprofessional behavior in terms of hiring processes and internal job reassigning."

"They are hiring more people for jobs that are already overfilled, they release job announcements that last three days, and the people they hire for those positions cannot meet the needs of the work process, which is then used as an excuse to hire even more people," the air traffic controllers' union leader Aleksandar Tasevski said. mr/