A survey of Thomas Cook’s airline workers has revealed that six weeks after the company collapsed, they are struggling to find work and suffering severe financial hardship.
According to a new poll by Unite union, 67% of Thomas Cook Airlines staff are still to find employment, following the collapse of the company.
In total, 93% of 300 respondents who took part in the survey had not yet found work.
Reported by Travel Weekly, just 10% of the affected workforce have secured full-time permanent employment of any form.
The study found that 42% secured interviews in the airline sector, but did not result in employment.
Unite said this tallies with feedback from members that there have been very few job opportunities in the airline industry.
Furthermore, just 19% of members who have applied for universal credit have received payment.
Unite also reported that those who are yet to receive payment suggested multiple problems affected the process, including being wrongly advised about what to apply for and being penalised, therefore having to restart the process due to receiving redundancy pay and notice pay.
This process is further complicated due to the fact that following a Universal Credit interview, is a five week delay before benefits are paid.
Unite was the union at Thomas Cook Airlines alongside pilots union, Balpa. Since the company’s collapse Unite has been providing assistance and training for the affected members to assist them in returning to employment, while also campaigning to ensure that a similar unnecessary collapse of an airline is never allowed to happen again.
Assistant general secretary at Unite, Diana Holland said: “The survey demonstrates the human misery caused by the collapse of Thomas Cook.
“Highly skilled and dedicated workers, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and without warning are finding it incredibly difficult to return to employment
“The struggle of workers to return to employment further highlights both the government’s failure to understand the nature of the Thomas Cook business and a complete absence of political will.
“The airline was extremely profitable and there were already potential buyers, interested in the business.
“This survey highlights the need for the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) select committee to complete its inquiry into Thomas Cook and for the recommendations from the Airline Insolvency Review and the Insolvency and Corporate Governance Review to be implemented at the earliest possible opportunity.
“We must take the steps needed to prevent the shocking reality of a viable profitable airline being forced into compulsory insolvency with the terrible loss of jobs and the major cost of repatriating passengers.”
For anyone still searching for employment following the collapse, we have a variety of roles on Aviation Job Search within the aviation sector from pilot jobs, cabin crew jobs and engineer jobs available on our website – please take a look and sign up for email alerts for roles you are particularly interested in. Best of luck to all affected with your job search.
We would also advise you to download our guide below too to help you get the most out of your job search.
