Beginning Monday, the strike will be extended by another 75 aviation technicians. A quarter of the aviation technicians organized in the NFO will be on strike.
Both Norway, SAS and Widerøe will be affected by the strike, and many departures will be canceled, but the consequences of the strike have not been clarified.
Customers should contact Silje Glorvigen in Norway to see if there is anything they need to do now.
– So far we have little information, but in the first instance it was a limited conflict. Affected customers will contact us. We will also update our websites about the strike, he tells NTB.
SAS said none of their passengers would be affected by today’s strike.
– Today, none of the passengers were affected by the strike. Anna Chandel tells NTB in the communications section at SAS that we will be back, but we will be notified by all passengers as to how this will be in the future.
Widerøe did not respond to NTB’s inquiries.
Unrealistic wage demands
At 3.50am on Saturday, the mediation between the NHO Luftford and the Norwegian Aviation Technology Organization (NFO) broke down.
– The mediator said the parties had so far split that there was no basis for submitting a proposal that could be expected to be recommended by either side, says mediator Carl Peter Martinson at the Ombudsman.
– Unfortunately, arbitration was violated. In our view, Torbjørn Lothe, CEO of NHO Luftfart, tells NTB that the cause of the breach is very high financial requirements.
He says the demand for pay for aviation technicians is unrealistic.
– The previous lesson was NOK 4 per hour, but the starting point for aviation technicians was NOK 60 per hour. Lotte says this is unbelievable in a stressful industry like ours.
Wages under pressure
– Unfortunately, we have not been able to reach an agreement with the NHO Luftford. Mediation has been broken and we are on strike, says NFO leader John Scotch.
In a statement on Saturday morning, Scotch said the paycheck was long overdue because the aviation technology industry was no longer competitive.
– We are in a situation where a salary addition as pre-subjects is unacceptable. The aviation technician profession should now have a level rise in salary.
– There are only four schools with aeronautical lines in Norway, and it is a pity that school classes are not filled. The Armed Forces has announced that it will need 300 aviation technicians over the next 5 years, he continues.
The NFO leader told TV 2 on Friday night that their demands had tripled.
– Crushing the union
– We have the right to negotiate the salaries, health requirements and for any members of the staff who take the most shifts. Other parties will remove the bargaining power of some member groups that previously had this right. It was union crushing, Scottsdale said.
The Norwegian Aircraft Technician Organization consists of Norwegian, SAS, Videro, Popcock Scandinavian Engineering, Norse Atlantic Airways (NORS) and Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (about 430 members).
According to the NFO, Babcock, Norse and Coms were not involved in the strike.
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