The Sindicato Independiente de Tripulantes de Cabina de Pasajeros de Líneas Aéreas (Airlines Cabin Crew Independent Union) is a union formed exclusively by Cabin Crew, which represents and defends the interests and rights of this professional group.
Presently, SITCPLA is the main independent Cabin Crew union and the only one that has proved that its union action is devoted entirely to the defense of Cabin Crew rights. Since 1986, we are the union with the higher number of affiliates in Spain, with union sections in Air Europa, EasyJet, Iberia, Plus Ultra and Ryanair. SITCPLA has affiliates in sixteen companies, virtually every airline operating in Spain.
The commitment of SITCPLA
The demand for our rights, the dialogue from a firm position, the ethical behavior and transparency, together with the participation of our affiliates, they all form the basis of our union action, which aims to head the leadership in the accomplishment of labour and professional improvements for Cabin Crew. A union action willing always to negotiate, but also able to put pressure when it is appropriate to do so, carefully choosing the right strategy and pacing itself to reach the necessary objectives in each moment.
We are an independent and professional organization, and our only commitment is with Cabin Crew. If you are Cabin Crew, SITCPLA is your place to be.
Decision bodies
The union structure has been organized so that the affiliate’s participation is key in the SITCPLA functioning and its union action.
The union is governed by a Board of Directors, formed by union representatives from the different sections.
The president and the spokespersons are elected by the members in General Assembly. In 2008, the presidential maximum term was limited to one election and one reelection, that is, an 8-year maximum.
The General Assembly is celebrated annually, where all members are informed about the union financial situation, a union action assessment is made and objectives for next year are discussed and planned. In the General Assembly celebrated in 2015, the union statutes were renovated, to adapt them to the new times and to encourage the affiliates’ participation.
SITCPLA OBJECTIVES: CABIN CREW FIRST
UNION OBJECTIVES. Our union action aims to defend the Cabin Crew jobs, to fight against instability and short-term contracts, and to improve the working conditions in which we perform our jobs. We know your problems, because we fly like you do. We work hard so that our members are better counseled, solving their small doubts as well as their legal defense against the airlines.
The training and preparation of our union representatives are a top priority for us. Therefore, we have the best advisers and tools to cope with negotiations regarding contracts, and all sort of agreements. In short, to defend the Cabin Crew interests in all negotiations forums, in every airline operating in Spain, and to be always on the side of the Cabin Crew.
PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVES. The social acknowledgment, the value and the specialization of the Cabin Crew profession, the increase in the working risks prevention, the improvement of training, and the inclusion of the Cabin Crew in the Real Decreto de Trabajos Aéreos (Royal Decree of Air Jobs), in order to reduce the age required to retire with full pension, are the SITCPLA main goals.
EUROPEAN UNION ACTION. Since 1986, SITCPLA participates in an active way in all the international forums related with our profession. The air transport sector is becoming increasingly globalized. Staying away from the European scope would mean for any union to keep out of the real decision bodies, where the regulatory legal frame which rules our profession is designed. Therefore, SITCPLA participates actively in the ETF with a seat and a vote (European Transport Workers’ Federation), and the ITF, which are the transport workers’ main international organizations. Within the European scope, SITCPLA is the only Cabin Crew professional union member of the ETF.
PARTICIPATION IN THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY. SITCPLA has a vocation as a union open to the university community. Therefore, in 2016 we have signed an agreement with the Universidad Europea, an affiliate of the Laureate International Universities, to grant favorable conditions for our affiliates to study degrees and postgraduate degrees in this prestigious university.
In the Universidad Europea, an Air Transport MBA can be studied, assessed by experts belonging to COPAC (the pilots’ Spanish professional association) and the aeronautical Spanish industry. This MBA is targeted to transport professionals with a university degree and to licensed airline commercial pilots, and is conducted entirely in English.