Royal Air Maroc Pilots Consider Pay Cuts to Keep Airline Afloat

"There is nothing left to negotiate, because the life of the company is not negotiable. Beyond our corporate demands, the priority is to revive RAM," a member of the Moroccan Association of Airline Pilots (AMPL) told Medias24. CEO Abdelhamid Addou had sent a letter to his staff in which he mentioned the need to make painful sacrifices.

When asked if the AMPL would accept a voluntary departure plan for pilots close to retirement age and a 45% pay cut for the others for 3 years, as was the case with the Lufthansa pilots’ union, he recalled that RAM pilots have already experienced a reduction in their salaries due to the drop in their productivity.

"A large company like Lufthansa operates at least 750 aircraft compared to 59 for RAM and a staff of 8,000 pilots compared to 600 for us. [...] Knowing that their remuneration system is based primarily on seniority and lower productivity, there is no possible comparison with our pilots whose salary is based on productivity," notes this AMPL member.

"Thus, if the pilots of the German company agreed to a 45% salary reduction, with us this reduction has been mechanical, with the drop in activity, says the captain. From there, we should not make comparisons, because each company has its own specificities. But beyond the formatted ideas and the single thought, this should not prevent us from trying to find solutions with our management."