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Short version
- Fellesforbundet will start a strike on Wednesday, sacking all SAS cabin crew.
- The strike involves about 800 employees and could lead to the grounding of SAS aircraft in Norway.
- The strike was due to dissatisfaction with wages and working conditions.
- SAS is already under financial pressure and a strike could make the situation worse.
Fellesforbund leader Jørn Eggum confirmed this to VG after a union meeting on Friday morning.
– We have no other solution than to stand firm against SAS. Therefore, we announce a significant escalation of the strike starting next Wednesday, when we will withdraw all crew members of SAS, about 550 crew members, including 115 cabin crew members, “he said.
Parat is also organizing cabin crews and reported this afternoon that they will also withdraw all members from Wednesday, Dagbladet reported. Parat organized 240 employees at SAS, they wrote.
After mediation that night failed to reach an agreement, the federation announced that it would carry out its first strike starting today, which would eliminate 115 members.
The labor organization Parat also announced that it would lay off five members starting Friday, and would quickly add 40 members over the weekend. Now, both LO and Parat have announced a full withdrawal from Wednesday.
VG has not yet contacted SAS to understand the consequences of this dramatic escalation, which could affect most Norwegian flights to SAS.
Historic strike after transfer to Fellesforbundet
Jørn Eggum was known in Los Angeles as the Strike General. But for many years it was a fight for the rights of workers in the industry and later also for the rights of employees in hotels and restaurants.
But the Cabin Crew Association has announced a move to Fellesforbundet, the body that organises the majority of SAS Norway’s cabin crew.
– Reasons for the strike
They became members of the Fellesforbundet on July 1. Just two months later, they staged the first strike in their history.
– It seems that the transfer to you was an important reason for the strike?
– No, the flight attendants’ wages and working conditions are the reason for the strike. They work three out of four weekends and earn NOK 27,500 a month. This is not a living wage at all.
The salary he mentioned was a starting salary. He said they required more than one weekend off per month.
– In any case, the workload is much greater on weekends than most other times.
– SAS thinks you are making unreasonable demands?
– No, we will adhere to the limits of 5.2 like everyone else, but since crew members can prove that their salary development is different from others, it is possible to ask for more.
– How many?
– I can’t go into detail about this, but during the SAS crisis in 2012, their salaries were reduced by 10%, and during the pandemic, they received less than others, so they are behind most other groups.
He noted that while wages for Norwegian workers have risen by 51 percent on average since 2011, its lowest-paid members have seen wages rise by just 23 percent.
Conker?
He added:
– The working conditions were very peculiar. Most other people needed a table to eat lunch. Our crew sat on stools in front of a long line of passengers who had to urinate on the plane. It was undignified.
– It seems like you might be speculating that the government will intervene Mandatory Wage Commission Has the conflict stopped?
– No, this is to make a request to SAS.
– You could be at risk of exacerbating significant financial problems for SAS; contributing to their purpose?
– No, we are far from contributing to this with our demands. Providing a living wage to the crew is not enough to send SAS to bankruptcy court. Enough, he said.
If you are affected by a strike, you should:
– Very unfortunate
VG wrote Friday morning Regarding a cabin crew member at SAS, she spoke about the consequences of being paid so little.
SAS is facing severe economic pressures and a strike will not completely solve this problem.
– It is particularly unfortunate that the conflict arose while the company was in bankruptcy protection and restructuring and was still losing money. Erik Lahnstein, managing director of NHO Luftfart, told E24 that this conflict made an already difficult situation even more difficult.
He said SAS did not reject all of the employees’ requests.
– He said, of course, we had real negotiations on salaries and working hours, and SAS did everything to find a solution.
– Today, a limited number of flights are affected by the strike and we are working hard to keep as many flights as possible flying as planned, SAS Press Manager Øystein Schmidt wrote in a press release.
VG could not ask whether the massive withdrawal they have now announced for next Wednesday means that SAS aircraft in Norway will be grounded.
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