On Thursday, SAS pilots were told the price they would have to pay to end the strike. It is now up to the members to accept the deal.
– If we think only in terms, this is the worst deal a shop steward has ever taken home for SAS pilots. No great joy.
Roger Cloxet, president of the Norwegian SAS Pilots Association, told VG after the meeting.
At 10 am on Thursday, A closed meeting in Gardermoen for members of two Norwegian pilots’ associations, the Norwegian SAS Pilots’ Association and SAS Norge Fligerforening.
– We have communicated the new agreement and what consequences it will have, for better or for worse, Cloxett says.
– It has been a while and we are waiting for the result. But for many it’s a big drop-off, SAS Norway Flyers Association President Jan Levy Skogvang tells VG.
– You said earlier that it was inappropriate to agree to a six-year contract, but does it end in another 5.5 years?
– Of course we hoped to reduce the number further. The losses are big, so you have to evaluate them against each other. But the deal doesn’t go into effect until October, so it’s actually five years away.
Pilots decide
After fifteen days of strikes and six days of intensive negotiations, it was Tuesday night Agreement between SAS management and SAS pilots.
At the discretion of members of four unions in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, they want to vote on contracts negotiated by their shop stewards in Stockholm.
– Now the agreement will be put to a vote, and then the members will answer yes or no, Skokwang explains.
– It will probably be released at the end of the week, and then there is a two-week response deadline. Cloxett says if the contract is rejected, it will take five days and then we will go back on strike.
– Are you sure what the outcome of the vote will be after today’s meeting?
– No, you can never be. Cloxett says that while he’s gotten a kind of first reaction from those who were present, they still need a couple of days to digest the information and decide what to vote for.
Mixed feelings
Skokwang said the agreement was received with understanding, but several questions remain:
– There have been extensive changes, he says, and we need to spend time explaining their effects.
The watch agrees:
– It’s mixed feelings. Members are concerned about the consequences for themselves of the deal. They are going from a 47.5 hour work week to one of 60 hours and that will be noticed. They get a poorer balance between work and leisure, and are underpaid, he says.
– Why did you still choose to sign the contract when you think it was a setback for many?
– A fortnight strike is the basis. At the same time, we experienced great pressure from the boss and surrounding circumstances. The company was in crisis and it was a third party that was hit hard. “We didn’t want to go on strike, we won at our most important points,” says Skokwang.
Cloxett also believes that pilots fought and won several important battles:
– The upside is that we have removed a speder hanging over us where SAS is trying to walk away from our collective agreement through restructuring. We’ve secured it now, and that’s very important. But he says the price is high.
– Looking at it from many angles, we were able to participate in a strike that received great support among the people. We feel like we’ve struggled throughout our working lives, and that’s something to be proud of, says Skokwang.
We have ensured that SAS flights are operated by SAS pilots, concludes Klokset.
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