US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO4666

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 004666 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, DRL/L, EB/TRA 
DEPT PASS DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION AND FEDERAL AVIATION 
ADMINISTRATION 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ELAB, EAIR, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS HOPE FOR EARLY 
RAISES FROM FERNANDEZ ADMINISTRATION 
 
REF: SANTO DOMINGO 2026 
 
1. Summary.  The salary dispute between the Association of 
Air Traffic Controllers (ACTA) and the Dominican Civil 
Aviation Authority (DGAC) that resulted in a three-day 
lockout in late March remains unresolved.  Although the union 
and the government do not have good relations now, there is 
hope that when the new administration takes power on August 
16 the two sides can reinitiate constructive discussions. 
End Summary. 
 
2. The Dominican Association of Air Traffic Controllers 
(ACTA) represents the approximately 200 civilian air traffic 
controllers in the Dominican Republic.  Many of the 
controllers work in private airports, but all are paid by the 
government.  In late March 2004 ACTA asked for a 100 percent 
pay increase for all air traffic controllers and suggested 
the possibility of a "go-slow" action (reftel).  The 
government locked out the controllers and turned to the 
approximately 50 Dominican military controllers.  The 
military controllers managed the system, although with 
delays, until ACTA was allowed back to work a few days later. 
 The government also brought in an unknown number of foreign 
air traffic controllers (including Mexicans and some AmCits), 
under contract through the May 16 election, to stand by in 
case of further labor problems. 
 
Government View 
 
3. On August 3, Director of Aviation Regulations for the 
Dominican Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) Gender Castro, an 
air traffic controller himself, reiterated to Emboffs the 
Mejia administration's position that the there is no money 
available to the controllers because the government budget is 
not healthy enough to provide raises for all of the public 
sector.  Castro cited President Mejia's rebuttal that "this 
country is not for one, but for all."  Castro said that DGAC 
and ACTA do not disagree that controllers deserve a salary 
increase, but disagree that the government should provide 
such an increase only to them. 
 
4. According to Castro, ACTA rejected a suggestion from the 
private sector for a combination of raises and increased 
benefits.  DGAC thinks that ACTA has become politicized and 
would reject any proposal short of the 100 percent pay raise. 
 Castro complained that it was impossible to deal with ACTA 
because of the union's hostility toward the current 
government. 
 
5. When asked about the performance of the military 
controllers during the lockout, Castro said that although 
they are capable of performing the job of the civilian 
controllers in an emergency, the military does not have 
enough controllers to handle the traffic for more than a few 
days.  The government would need help from outside 
controllers in the event of a lengthy strike or lockout. 
 
Union View 
 
6. On August 10, ACTA President Bolivar De Leon told Emboffs 
that since the last salary increase for controllers in 1997, 
due to the devaluation of the Dominican peso the controllers 
now make less than half in dollars of what they used to earn. 
 (News reports indicate that controllers received a 100 
percent salary adjustment in pesos at the end of 2002, 
although even with the raise the average controller still 
made only about USD 1000 per month.)  De Leon said that the 
controllers want salaries commensurate with those of air 
traffic controllers in the United States because the 
technical skills and stress are the same.  DGAC disagrees, 
contending that Dominican controllers handle fewer flights 
and do not possess the same level of technical English as 
their counterparts. 
 
7. De Leon indicated that although relations are not good 
with DGAC, ACTA hopes for improvements with the incoming 
Fernandez administration, which takes office on August 16. 
De Leon appeared confident that an agreement on salaries 
could be reached quickly with the new administration. 
 
Comment 
8. The negotiating position of ACTA is relatively weak 
because Mejia showed that the air traffic controllers could 
be replaced.  However, ACTA will probably move immediately to 
restart salary negotiations with Fernandez even though 
Fernandez has said publicly that he is going to concentrate 
on improving the overall health of the economy before raising 
public sector salaries.  When poloff asked De Leon what ACTA 
would do if Fernandez did not agree to raise salaries 
straight away, the union chief declined to respond. 
Fernandez will have a brief honeymoon when he takes office, 
but many groups, including the controllers, are expecting 
little short of a miracle.  Labor conflict in the Dominican 
Republic could increase dramatically by the end of the year. 
KUBISKE