Cabo Verde: Defunct TICV Airline Workers Demand Overdue Pay
A group of 46 former employees of the defunct airline Transportes Interilhas de Cabo Verde (TICV) are sounding the alarm after being left in financial limbo for nearly 100 days. The workers are demanding that the Cabo Verdean government and the Angolan company Bestfly honor an agreement to pay overdue salaries and legal compensation.
A Broken Promise
The dispute stems from an agreement signed on August 22, following the airline’s collapse. Under the terms of the deal, workers were promised their July and August salaries, along with full indemnities, within 15 business days. Instead, more than three months have passed without payment.
“No one is responding,” Rubem Barros, a member of the TICV workers’ commission, told Lusa. “There is a vacuum on both sides: the government will not receive us, and neither will the company.”
Families in Financial Distress
The airline, which served as the primary link for inter-island travel, suspended operations in April following a bitter fallout between its shareholders. The Cabo Verdean state owns 30% of the company, while Bestfly holds the remaining 70%.
Barros highlighted the human cost of the corporate failure, noting that the affected group includes pilots, specialized aviation technicians, and maintenance staff. “There are several families affected,” he said, revealing that some former employees are now receiving psychological support while others have been forced to emigrate to find work.
Protesters gathered outside the company’s former offices on Tuesday, pledging to ramp up demonstrations in the coming days until their voices are heard. “The state should protect the people, but we feel total abandonment,” Barros added.
Skepticism Over New State Airline
The Cabo Verdean government has moved to establish a new, 100% state-owned airline to handle domestic transport. While the Minister of Transport previously suggested that former TICV staff would be integrated into the new venture, the workers remain skeptical.
“It’s like a game,” Barros said. “The minister promised to integrate us, but we have had no feedback. No one has been contacted. The new company is already in the Official Gazette, but the workers haven’t been told anything.”
When contacted for comment, the Ministry of Transport stated that a formal response would be released at a later date.
Image: Pexels – Tiago L BR
