BRAZIL: Employees of Brazil airline Varig protest, demanding the government step up efforts to pull the airline out of bankruptcy

Record ID: 865218

  • Title: BRAZIL: Employees of Brazil airline Varig protest, demanding the government step up efforts to pull the airline out of bankruptcy
  • Date: 12th April 2006
  • Summary: (LATIN) RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (APRIL 11, 2006) (REUTERS) AEROPLANE FLIES INTO RIO, HARBOUR MOUNTAINS IN BACKGROUND (2 SHOTS) AEROPLANE GETTING CLOSER VARIG AEROPLANE LANDING AT AIRPORT (GOOD SHOTS OF AEROPLANE APPROACHING RIO)
  • Embargoed: 27th April 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • City:
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Economic News,Employment
  • Reuters ID: LVA2TNRRGOMSWOGHQOGUX5A2F3BH
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Faced with an uncertain future, employees of Brazilian airlines Varig marched on Tuesday (April 11), demanding that the government intervene to lift the ailing carrier out of bankruptcy protection.
    Even as employees demand that the government step in, the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) blocked on Tuesday the latest bid to rescue the airline.
    The latest bid, by small Brazilian airline OceanAir to take over some Varig routes, was denied because routes cannot be passed to third parties, according to ANAC.
    Vera Potter who owns a Rio de Janeiro travel agency, said the situation is becoming increasingly desperate for the approximately 11-thousand people employed by Varig.
    "They're experienced, knowledgeable, trained professionals but that the market will not be able to absorb them," said Potter. "We're talking about 20 thousand families. I don't think the Brazilian economy, we don't think the Brazilian economy, can take care of that at this moment."
    Other bids, including a recent one by VarigLog, the former logistics unit of the airline, and Docas Investimentos, have failed to materialize.
    While an airline spokesperson said flights had not been cancelled, one tourist said she was pessimistic about the situation.
    "In this country, large companies don't have much social responsibility in the context of the great working mass," said Beth de Axum. "They close doors, they fire (workers), everyone goes home as if it were a game and, in reality, they're Brazilian workers in their most varied categories who lost their jobs and, many times, their perspectives, because they dedicated years to the company and the job."
    Meanwhile, Varig employees marched out to the runway and protested alongside one of the planes.
    Varig's creditors include General Electric Co. Boeing Co. and several state-owned entities, such as oil giant Petrobras and the government's airport authority, Infraero.
    As Brazil's former flagship carrier, Varig -- short for Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense -- is one of the country's best- known companies globally. But the 78-year-old airline has been struggling for years, racking up debt and losing market share at home.
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