Monarch Employees Accept 30% Pay Cuts to Save Airline

Aviation firm Monarch has said that its employees have agreed to take a pay cut of up to a third to save the faltering business from going under.

The struggling British airline has voted almost unanimously in favour of taking up to a 30% pay cut - 96% of pilots, 90% of the cabin crew, and 88% of engineers agreed to the restructuring plan, after discussions with their respective unions.

Andrew Swaffield, chief executive, said: "This vote represents another step forward in our efforts to transform Monarch and demonstrates a commitment from every member of the Monarch workforce."

Swaffield added that there is still major hurdles to overcome if Monarch is to secure its future, however.

As part of the restructuring strategy, the company plans to put around 900 of its staff out of work, which is almost a third of its workforce.

However, Swaffield continued by saying that "This is firm progress for Monarch, its employees and for its customers."

Jim McAlusun, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, commented: "We welcome the announcement that Greybull are moving towards securing their position as majority shareholders in Monarch.

"It is now time for the government to engage with all of the parties concerned and do everything it can to make this deal happen and help Monarch survive and thrive."

Oliver Richardson, national officer at Unite, which represents over 1,000 Monarch employees, said: "Our priority is the welfare and longer term job security of our members.

"Although the discussions over the past few weeks have been difficult and our members are sacrificing a lot, what is clear is that they remain committed to the future of Monarch and have voted accordingly.

"We will be seeking assurances and commitments from the new investors and company regarding future business plans and any impact they might have on our members."

Monarch's owners are the Swiss-Italian Mantegazza family office. Greybull is known for backing the takeover of Comet, which folded in 2012 with the loss of some 7000 jobs