Economy. Around 3500 SAS travelers may suffer if the pilot strike breaks out tonight and Swedavia, which operates the Arlanda, has raised readiness at the airport.
– We have put in extra staff if in case the strike breaks out. The case of terminal hosts and informers to be able to help travelers on the best way. If there is a strike, there will be many people at the airport and there will be great impact from aviation. No travelers have heard of us yet, says Åsa Öhman press officer at Swedavia.
Negotiations between the Swedish airline industry and the Swedish Pilots’ Association on a new collective agreement has been ongoing for several weeks and no agreement has been reached. If the parties can not agree before the clock 18 tonight break a strike among SAS pilots who have their base at the airport. According to SAS, thousands of travelers may be affected if the strike breaks out.
– Yes, there are many who may be affected, but we have not begun to notify some travelers at present. We have not set any flight. We assume that we will arrive at a solution, says Fredrik Henriksson press officer at SAS.
Pilot Association requires, among other more secure forms of employment and higher wages. SAS president comments on the ongoing negotiations.
– We want our employees to feel secure in their jobs, but the pilots’ salary demands are too high. We can not afford to pay that much given the competition that exists. We assume that we will reach an agreement before the clock 18 tonight. We do everything in our power to prevent a strike breaks out, says SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson.
said no yesterday
In yesterday rejected the pilot compartment mediators bid. Swedish aviation industry understands that pilots remain at their original demands of overall cost increases “in roughly ten percent.” But the calculation is not correct, according to the union.
– We demand 3.5 per cent increase in wages, and beyond that we require clarity and orderliness in the agreements. SAS will not be able to interpret them to their advantage for commercial reasons. Furthermore, we demand that it should be the same wage system for new hires SAS pilots as for those who have been employed for a long time, said Swedish Pilot Association vice chairman Wilhelm Tersmeden to TT yesterday.
“deathblow”
Mattias Dahl, president of the employers’ organization Swedish airline industry, is concerned about what a strike might involve:
– We’re talking about an industry and a company that was in bankruptcy for some years ago, and it has just managed to crawl out of it and have barely little black figures here and there. To then go out with a big strike is a blow.
In Norway, SAS has agreed a new contract with the Norwegian pilot unions NSF and SAS Norway Pilot (SNF). The agreement, effective from 1 April and is valid for one year, means that all SAS flights to and from Norway will go as planned, according to SAS in a press release.
TT have searched Swedish Pilots’ Association for Commenting today.
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