Pilots report pressure to extend working hours and fears of penalties for declaring themselves unfit to fly
Three in four European airline pilots have taken microsleeps in the cockpit, while almost a quarter routinely fly despite being too fatigued to work, according to a report.
The findings, based on a survey of almost 7,200 captains and first officers by the European Cockpit Association (ECA), include pilots reporting insufficient rest, pressure to extend working hours and fears of being penalised for declaring themselves unfit to fly.
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© Photograph: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Alamy
© Photograph: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Alamy
© Photograph: Agencja Fotograficzna Caro/Alamy
Housing rights groups in Portugal are pushing for a nationwide general strike coordinated with Spain as protests against proposed rental law changes intensify, with a police crackdown on a protest encampment resulting in more than 30 arrests, according to organizers.
RELATED: Portuguese Police Violently Evict Housing Rights Camps in Lisbon and Oporto
Reports on the number of arrests vary. Official accounts put the figure between 11 and 31, while organizers say more than 30 people were detained. The police operation against members of the encampment drew criticism from several sectors.
Housing rights organizations mobilized in Lisbon and Porto on Sunday to build support for a general strike. The proposal has also been discussed at public assemblies and demonstrations held daily across Portugal for more than a week.
“There are thousands of people mobilized, and I think that makes calling a general strike in Portugal increasingly necessary,” João Veloso, a spokesperson for the Lisbon Encampment, told the press. He expressed confidence that the growing demonstrations could pressure the government to withdraw its proposed rental law reforms.
The initiative is being discussed alongside a general strike announced in Spain for Wednesday, Nov. 11. Trade unions and social organizations in Spain are calling for measures to address the housing crisis and improve working conditions.
Demonstrations have extended beyond Lisbon and Porto to Coimbra and Faro. At nightly public assemblies, participants have discussed whether to set up tents again or spend nights in sleeping bags to sustain the protests.
The unrest stems from the conservative government’s proposed changes to rental laws. The legislation would accelerate eviction proceedings, eliminate the minimum three-year term for certain automatic lease renewals, allow landlords to demand up to three months’ rent in advance instead of the current two-month limit, and remove the cap of two months’ rent on security deposits.
Anger on the streets could increasingly turn against the EU itself if it can’t show why cooperation makes people’s lives better
Europe is living through an autumn of unusual discontent. What protesters from Paris to Milan to Madrid share is a deepening anxiety about the future and a growing anger at the gap between what they expect from their governments and what they feel governments are delivering, whether the issue is unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, the spiralling cost of living or failing schools.
The electoral consequences of the failure to get a grip on this public anger are already with us. Spain goes to the polls next month in a snap election called after parliament voted down key housing reforms. France begins the process of electing a new president in April, while Poland, Italy and a string of smaller states will vote before the end of 2027. The stakes could not be higher.
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© Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images
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