Wage negotiations for cabin crew in SAS in Norway have been going on for over two months. The parties are too far apart to agree on their own. Voluntary mediation starts tomorrow. The question is whether a third party can find solutions that enable SAS to avoid another strike. Before the wage negotiations started for the cabin crew in Norway in September, the employees were clear that wages must rise. Otherwise, they were ready for a strike. They do not think it is unseemly to ask for higher wages, even if the company is in a difficult financial situation. The reason is that they have low wages, and they have had a wage freeze for three years in a row. Quits SAS, increases 150,000 in basic salary In October, 28-year-old Ingrid Nansve had her last day of work at SAS. There is one main reason for her quitting. – It is simply because of the salary. It is far too bad. You work long days, 11–12 hours, and the pay is simply not equivalent, says Nansve to news. As a tram driver, I will work two weekends out of six. As a cabin crew, I worked 7 out of 8, says Ingrid Nansve. Photo: Even Bjørningsøy Johnsen / news Now she has started as an aspiring tram driver. As a tram driver, the basic salary in a 100 per cent position will increase from NOK 320,000 in SAS – to NOK 470,000 as a tram driver in Sporveiene. A salary increase of 150,000 in basic salary. In addition, as a tram driver, she receives evening, night and weekend allowances. – Quite crazy that it is so poorly paid in SAS. Because we work very, very much. And it’s a pretty important job in the cabin. So it is quite strange that the salary is so low. She says that at SAS they work more than most other jobs in society. – After all, we work 47.5 hours per week. Strange to have so little pay for so much work. Would you have wanted to continue with SAS if the pay was better? – Yes absolutely! I would never have quit if it wasn’t for the pay. Press manager at SAS Norway, Tonje Bjerve Sund, agrees that the cabin profession has become demanding. – The cabin crew is a demanding profession. It is a profession that has changed. Before, they flew Monday to Friday. Now people fly on weekend trips, more in the summer and less in the winter. It is a change that SAS is also part of. Therefore, the cabin crew work more weekends than before, for example, she says. Because the travel pattern of the passengers has changed. Employees in the airline industry are exempt from the Working Environment Act’s rules on working time regulations. Many are leaving as cabin crew in SAS now From May to October, close to 60 cabin crew in SAS have left the company, says chairman of the Norwegian Cabin Association, Bjarte Stedje. – There are a lot of people who have quit. And we have received indications that there are more people who have chosen to leave SAS in the future. They go to jobs that have better conditions and better pay, says Stedje. – We have a trust problem with the management. All the time we are faced with new requirements for savings. No matter what we give, it’s not good enough, says Stedje. Photo: Ingvil Øvretveit / news Does SAS have a staffing problem? – We think they have it, it is more difficult to get hold of qualified people. There are fewer applicants for jobs in SAS now, he says. At the same time, the employees notice an increased request to work extra for SAS. Messages come in daily from SAS asking whether cabin crew can work extra shifts, according to the chairman. This results in increased wear and tear. – Now that the situation is as it is, many people choose to go to other professions. No later than Monday 31 October, another resignation was handed in, says Stedje. SAS believes the number of people resigning is lower than the union says. – When you start at 60, it also includes those who have retired, says the press manager at SAS. Sund believes that the real number of people who have recently quit voluntarily is just over 30. Sund believes that SAS should be an attractive employer. Both on salary and terms. Photo: Roy Pettersen / news For two years during the pandemic, the entire aviation industry was almost at a standstill. Sund says that it created a number of problems for aviation in general when everything had to start up again. SAS has also noticed that there is now a tighter labor market than before. – We have recruitment campaigns out, we are working intensively to fill up the available cabin courses. We also register that many people want to work with us. But we also see that there is a tight labor market. And it is clear that SAS also notices it, says Sund. But the union leadership believes that there are abnormally many people quitting. And the employees in the cabin are skilled people and attractive in the labor market, according to Stedje. He is now receiving notices that more people will quit later in the autumn. Historically, those who started in SAS stayed for life, he points out. This is no longer the case. Lower top salary than 10 years ago 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 therefore be around NOK 20,000 on average – Top salary is NOK 36,826. It is actually lower than the top salary in 2012 of NOK 37,064. So now there must be a change, says Stedje. The cabin crew have had salary negotiations with SAS for a long time. Without agreeing. Main demand: more pay, at least a 3.7 per cent increase After several weeks of wage negotiations, the cabin crew and SAS are still on their own planet Stedje is experiencing. – The situation now is that we have put forward a salary requirement, the same as the frontline subject, of 3.7 per cent. And after several years of wage freezes, it is the least an employer should give us, says Stedje. – We have put in moderate demands. All we have asked for is a pay rise, says Stedje. Photo: Ingvil Øvretveit / news He lists some of the demands that SAS wants to meet: SAS wants them to work more hours. Up from 47.5 hours a week to 60 hours a week. The maximum number of hours in a month must increase from 166 to 190. The cabin crew must be available 24 hours a day when they are on “stand by”. And there will be more such days. – It makes it more difficult to plan, and it becomes more unpredictable for the employees. That is what is difficult to swallow, he continues. He believes that SAS should look at other solutions to save money. Don’t take away from those who earn the least, and who have it the hardest. SAS Norway’s press manager, Tonje Bjerve Sund, will not go into demands and discussions about the salary negotiations in the media. – When it comes to individual elements in the overall picture such as working hours and salary compensation, these are topics that we must have good discussions with the trade unions about in the voluntary mediations, says Sund. Sund doesn’t think anyone wants a strike now. – Our focus is on coming to an agreement, she says. Photo: Roy Pettersen / news May go against strike The parties will go to voluntary mediation with the national mediator on Thursday and Friday. The reason is that the parties have not been able to agree on the salary negotiations, which have been going on for many weeks. It is SAS that has asked for help. Press manager at SAS Norway, Tonje Bjerve Sund, confirms that it is true that there are demanding discussions. – We are in a historically demanding situation. We are in a situation where we have to deliver on an ambitious savings plan. And that is why we have now asked for help from a third party who is a national mediator, she says. The aim of the voluntary mediation, which starts on Thursday, is to reach an agreement as quickly as possible, she points out. But if the parties do not agree, the negotiations go to forced mediation with the risk of another strike in SAS. – In the worst case, there could be a conflict. If mediation does not work, says Bjarte Stedje, head of the Norwegian Cabin Association. We must have a workplace we can live off of. We don’t have that now, he continues. The salary in SAS is now so low that it creates problems for the cabin crew to pay loans, rent and electricity, for example, Stedje concludes. New future for Ingrid Ingrid Nansve is looking forward to a new chapter in her life. In Sporveiene. She thinks it will be very exciting and fun. Ingrid Nansve thinks it will be very right for her to drive a tram. Very exciting, she says. Photo: Even Bjøringsøu Johnsen / news On her SAS salary, she has had to think twice before buying something, or whether she should do something fun. With a better salary, she looks forward to being able to save to buy a flat or house, do more pleasant things, make future plans with her partner. – I couldn’t afford that on my SAS salary, she concludes.
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Ingrid Nansve quits as a cabin crew member at SAS
