In just under two weeks, salary negotiations will start between the cabin crew in Norway and SAS. The pilots’ salary negotiations ended in mediation and a costly 15-day strike. The SAS management was very unhappy with that. Must shop as cheaply as possible Ramberg has worked in the cabin at SAS for 23 years. She works in shifts, days with increasingly long working hours and shorter breaks. But she thinks the salary is low. Now she works in a 60 percent position. On it, she earns 22,000 a month before tax, with long seniority. – I have to think very carefully about what I can buy, and which products. I have to choose the cheapest. I’ve never been as price-conscious about food as I am now. Never before, emphasizes Ramberg. Must get more pay When she started she was happy, – she got her dream job. But the days have changed. She says that the rotation results in increasingly longer working hours and shorter breaks. But she is proud of her job. And still happy with it. – We are security personnel after all. We must be present and, in the worst case, save lives. You must be obvious. You must be fit to work. – I wish you had a decent salary. Not to earn a lot, but to earn enough to be able to live in Norway, that must be expected, says Ramberg Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / Truls Alnes Antonsen Meeting people with a smile and making an effort is important to her. But the working days are getting tougher and tougher. Now she believes that SAS must clean up. At the same time, SAS is working on a savings plan, and is in bankruptcy protection, so-called chapter 11, in the USA. Among other things, they need to raise NOK 9 billion and save NOK 7.5 billion. The pilot strike lasted 15 days and cost the company dearly. SAS lost NOK 1.9 billion in the third quarter. Has two jobs to get by Today, Ramberg works in a 50 percent position in the health care system in addition to his 60 percent position in SAS. She cannot afford to work more than 60 per cent at SAS, because that is where she earns the least. She cannot afford restaurant visits or expensive holidays. She has enough money to live on. But must limit other things now when price inflation in society is so high in several areas. – But why do you continue as a cabin crew? – Difficult to let go of something that has given me so much. Detachment is so difficult. But I’m thinking other thoughts. There is a time for everything. They don’t pay what I need with the salary we have now. Wage negotiations start in September On 6 September, the wage negotiations between the two associations for cabin crew in Norway and SAS start. Figures from Statistics Norway show that flight attendants, together with boat attendants, are now far down in salary statistics in Norway – they are in 307th place out of 360 occupations in 2021. The SAS Norway boss points out that this is an average figure. Leader of the Norwegian Cabin Association, Bjarte Stedje, believes that this clearly shows that wages must rise. – We have too poor pay, both starting and top pay. We are out of sight. We have a wage freeze for the third year, and the rise in prices in society is enormous. People struggle to pay bills, and people struggle to have a life besides work. Stedje feels the management no longer listens to the employees. They should work as a team with us, he says. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / Truls Alnes Antonsen A new employee in a cabin at SAS has 25,000 in basic salary per month before tax. But they do not get a full-time position. They work in a so-called 75/90 position – corresponding to a position of 82.5 per cent, according to the Norwegian Cabin Association. The salary will thus be around NOK 20,000 on average, says Stedje. While the top salary after 40 years is NOK 36,000. – We are tired, we need more breath between work sessions and the days are too heavy in relation to the balance between work and leisure. The head of SAS Norway says that starting salary is one of several things that must be discussed when salary negotiations start. – There are many people who have other salaries as well. But it is clear that this is a topic. And working conditions and productivity are a topic. At the same time, the company’s ability to raise wages is a topic for discussion, says Kjetil Håbjørg. He is looking forward to the discussion with the cabin crew. Is well prepared, and has faith that the parties will be able to reach an agreement. Tough working days Stedje states that they have had a member survey. 99 per cent of 520 members believe that the cabin crew must be paid more for the work they do. – We are a profession that focuses on safety. We are shift employees, and work 47.5 hour working weeks. And we have no supplement for night, evening or weekend. They do, however, receive a public holiday allowance for the red days in the calendar of NOK 1,500. And a hygiene supplement of NOK 300 per month in a full-time position. They also receive subsistence allowance when travelling. A cabin crew can risk working seven weekends in a row. And they get work plans for the next month about 14 days before. Stedje points out that security guards who are also security personnel are paid much better. – They have a starting salary of around NOK 32,000, and a number of bonuses. And far fewer working hours per week in the rotation, he says. Stedje now hopes that SAS will start using the employees as a resource and not an evil. And gives them a living wage. Otherwise, he is afraid of losing colleagues to competitors in the airline industry who pay better, for example Norwegian where the cabin crew received a good settlement this year. Leader of the SAS Norway Cabin Association, Martinius Røkkum supports the wage demand. He also wants better conditions for the cabin crew in order to be able to recruit employees in Norway in the future. SAS must create a new SAS – Our colleagues are of course the most important factor we have to create the product we want to have in the market – the so-called SAS quality of which we are very proud. So we must work very hard to convince our employees that this is correct, says Håbjørg. Håbjørg believes that both sides of the negotiating table will go to great lengths to agree on the salary settlement. Photo: William Jobling / news At the same time, he is clear that SAS must find solutions that enable the creation of a new SAS, in a new market that is profitable. And at the same time be an attractive employer. Demanding more pay while SAS is struggling financially Even though the company is in a bad financial situation, the cabin crew do not think it is unseemly to ask for a pay rise. – No, I don’t think so. We have employees who have increased their wages three years in a row while we have had a wage freeze. We received a demand for a salary freeze because we were to buy new aircraft and invest, but it went to a newly established company. We gave wages, but the investments did not go to us but to others, says Bjarte Stedje. Even if the cabin crew in Norway think it is their turn for a wage increase, there is probably no automaticity in it, believes the boss of SAS Norway. – But these are now things we will discuss and we look forward to that discussion. However, it is important that we compete on a European basis, with European wages. So it is important for us to have a good dialogue. Ready to strike if necessary When asked if they are ready to go on strike if the negotiations in September go badly, Stedje replies that most probably think they have nothing to lose anymore. – I think our members have put their foot down. Now the management must give us a salary that we can live on. At Jessheim, Silje Ramberg is prepared to fight for more pay and better conditions. – I am ready to go on strike. Definitely. Why? – Future flight attendants must be able to work for more than 2 years, without having to quit because they cannot live on their salary, says Ramberg. It will be very sad if the company goes bankrupt, she believes. At the same time, it is the employees who deal with all situations in the plane. She feels it is now the cabin crew’s turn to increase wages.
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– Ready to go on strike – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
