COPA AIRLINES 982 pilots are poised to strike on Thursday June 15 if their demands on pay, seniority and working hours are not met.

Pilots want the company to recognize their work hours, ground service time and overtime.

Captain Edgar Soto, secretary of the Panamanian Union of Commercial Aviators (UNPAC) and a member of the negotiating committee, told El Siglo that at the moment they are at the negotiating table with the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel).

"They (Copa) insist on not recognizing the seniority premium, nor the time spent on the ground because they say that is already paid when it is not," he said.

He added  that the pilots  made an initial proposal of 40% salary increase and the company offered only 1%, which the union considers to be far from reality.He said that the Mitradel authorities are witnessing the negotiations

"We want to reach an agreement so we will negotiate,through weekends and into the night" he said.

Mitradel Director  Luis Ernesto Carles, said that the negotiations between the pilots and the company are proceeding in a positive way.