Court Case Against Air Traffic Control Strike Continues

 

The 8 Spanish courts investigating the criminal cases against the 220 air traffic controllers, one year after the wildcat strike that closed Spanish airspace, is continuing.

Courts have so far charged controllers with sedition for the unjustified abandonment of their jobs and for the disruption it caused to tens of thousands of travelers. In more serious cases it has charged controllers with coercion and in one case, illegal detention for holding the passengers onboard a plane at Barajas airport for three hours. The higher charges warrant eight years in prison if a guilty verdict is given.

Criminal action was brought by the Attorney General's Office against Air traffic controllers who "instigated, directed and seconded" action on the 3rd and 4th of December 2010, which caused the closure of Spanish airspace for 24 hours. The Public Prosecutor ordered the provincial prosecutor to open preliminary investigations for those controller who abandoned their posts. AENA officials refused to testify, but prosecutors had enough evidence without this to move their complaints to the courts.

A dozen Judges in Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Gerona, Mallorca, Ibiza, Canary Islands, Santiago de Compostela, Bilbao, Sevilla and Malaga began the slow process of investigating the sitaution and reviewed documentation of prosecutors and police investigations as claims by those effected against the AIr Traffic Controllers mounted.

The Seville and Malaga courts found, in judging 30 defendants, that their absence from work during the period in question was justified.

In Madrid, the case against 90 defendants, is still ongoing one year later. The Madrid case also includes the AIr traffic Controllers Union, USCA, who were accused of "promoting" absence through sick leave at Santiago airport, where the action first began on 27th November last year.

Judge Maria del Sagrario Herrero cited the first defendants in September and will continue into December.

However, the case brought by the association of the 5,300 people claiming compensation for damages due to the action looks unlikely to succeed in it's claim. Lawyers note that the wildcat strike began hours after the government approved the regulation of the working hours of controllers, a decree which put an end to the profession's "historical privileges."

The Majority of the 5,000 claimants are represented by a law firm in Madrid, who also represent the Spanish Agency of Travel Agents (AEDAVE), the consumer organization (OCU), amongst other groups and association.

The Court of Madrid has also called upon witnesses to determin the course of events leading up to, and during the strike. Many of these witnesses are AENA Employees who spoke of rumours about the possibility of the Union calling a meeting to discuss strike action in the days leading up to the event.

In the end no such meeting took place, but at 16:30 hours on December 3rd, 66 of the 68 drivers who began their shift at Barajs Control Tower presented their sick notes.

The action then spread to Barcelona, ​​Girona, Mallorca, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Santiago and Bilbao airports.