– In the first instance, we contact NHO to enter into dialogue. We want to negotiate and reach an agreement, says leader of the Norwegian Aircraft Technician Organization (NFO), Jan Skogseth, to news. Jan Skogseth is the leader of NFO. Photo: news 31 aircraft technicians went on strike on Saturday morning after the mediation between NFO and NHO aviation did not succeed. NFO informs news that they will contact NHO tonight. – We went on strike because the mediation did not lead and the distance was too great. We make it clear that we are interested in continuing the dialogue and reaching an agreement. This presupposes that the other party is also negotiable, says Skogseth. – Have you changed your position since you went on strike? – No. Not until we return to the negotiating table. – Does the fact that you now want to return to the negotiating room have anything to do with the reactions to a strike in a “travel summer”? – No. We had that as a standpoint already at the break. NHO Luftfart writes to news in an SMS tonight that they have so far not received any inquiries from NFO. Pre-canceling departures Both Norwegian, SAS and Widerøe are affected by the strike. All departures this weekend go as planned, but there is uncertainty associated with departures from and including Monday. – The new withdrawal on Monday will affect us further. We are now working to get an overview, so we can pre-cancel some departures next week. We want to minimize the consequences for traffic flow as much as possible, and shield as many passengers as possible, Silje Brandvoll, communications director in Widerøe. SAS and Norwegian are also working to get an overview of the coming week. They will notify their travelers as soon as possible, and encourage you to contact customer service if you have any questions about travel. WIDERØE: – There are 13 technicians who have gone on strike with us, but we have many more around the country. There may be delays, but no cancellations until now, says Silje Brandvoll in Widerøe. Photo: Ola Helness / news – There may still be some disruptions this weekend as well, so travelers must lubricate themselves with a little patience. We ask people to meet as agreed at the airport, Brandvoll says. Press contact Silje Glorvigen in Norwegian tells news that they also have no canceled departures due to the strike. – So far we have little information, but in the first instance this is a limited conflict. The customers who are affected will be contacted by us. We will also update our websites about the strike, she says to NTB. SAS states that none of their passengers will be affected by the strike today. – No flights are affected at SAS today. Passengers who may be affected in the future will be contacted by us, but we hope there will be a quick solution, says Tonje Sund, press manager at SAS. GARDERMOEN: The queues at Gardermoen on Saturday morning were no longer than usual. Nor are they due to the ongoing strike. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news Extends the strike next week Already on Monday, the strike will be extended with another 75 aircraft technicians. Then about a quarter of the aircraft technicians organized in the NFO will strike. – When the withdrawal becomes larger, operations can be further affected, with delays and possible cancellations. However, this does not mean that everything stops completely, and we will work to get people to where they are going, Brandvoll says in Widerøe. She adds that also how many technical errors occur, and what errors there are, have an impact on operations. If we have few technical errors, operations will be affected to a lesser extent. We do not know exactly how many or how the departures will be affected next week, Brandvoll says. Unrealistic wage demand There was a break in the mediation between NHO Luftfart and the Norwegian Aircraft Technician Organization (NFO) at 3.50 on Saturday morning. – The mediator stated that the parties were so far apart that there was no basis for submitting a proposal that could be expected to be recommended by both parties, says mediator Carl Petter Martinsen at the Ombudsman. The CEO of NHO Luftfart believes that the financial demands from the aircraft technicians were unreasonable, and far from what the airlines and employers can meet. – We are very disappointed that we are now entering into a conflict due to unrealistic demands for a group that already has good wage conditions at the bottom, says CEO Torbjørn Lothe in NHO Luftfart. UNREASONABLE: CEO of NHO Luftfart, Torbjørn Lothe, believes the wage demands are unrealistic. Photo: NHO Aviation The general supplement in the front subject was four kroner per hour. NFO basically requires NOK 60 per hour. It would give a wage increase of approx. 18 percent. – What would have been reasonable was if they adapted to other groups in society, and a wage settlement that is at a reasonable level that the Norwegian economy allows for, says Lothe. Salary under pressure – We have unfortunately not been able to reach an agreement with NHO Luftfart. The mediation was broken and we are on strike, said NFO leader Jan Skogseth earlier today. In a press release on Saturday morning, Skogseth writes that the salary has been under pressure for so long that the aviation technician profession is no longer competitive. – We are in a situation where it is unacceptable with one wage supplement as the front subjects. The aviation technician profession must have a salary increase now. – There are only four schools in Norway with aeronautical lines, and the tragedy is that the school classes are not filled up. The Armed Forces has announced that they will need up to 300 aircraft technicians over the next 5 years, he continues. The NFO leader told TV 2 on Friday night that their demands were threefold. – Trade union crushing – It is salaries, health-related demands for employees that take the heaviest shifts, and which members we have the right to negotiate for. The other party will remove the right to bargain for certain member groups that previously had this right. This is union crushing, said Skogseth. The Norwegian Aircraft Technician Organization has around 430 members in Norwegian, SAS, Widerøe, Babcock Scandinavian Engineering, Norse Atlantic Airways (Norse) and Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (Kams). Babcock, Norse and Kams have not gone on strike, according to NFO.
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Aircraft technicians go on strike – unrealistic wage demands, says NHO – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
