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STRIKES

Escalation of Norwegian SAS strike to heavily disrupt flights next week

Unions representing striking SAS cabin crew staff in Norway announced an escalation to industrial action that could ground the airline’s flights to and from Norway from next Wednesday.

Published: 23 August 2024 14:43 CEST
Pictured is a SAS flight in the air.
Unions have announced an escalation to the SAS cabin crew strike in Norway which began on Friday. Pictured is a SAS flight in the air. Photo by Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP

The strike began on Friday after mediation talks on wages and working conditions between unions, SAS and the national mediator broke down.

Some 120 SAS staff were taken out of work by unions on Friday morning, which SAS said would cause “minimum disruption on Friday.” By the end of the weekend, the number of staff on strike would increase to 152.

The United Federation of Trade Unions (Fellesforundet) said Friday that all 550 unionised SAS cabin crew staff would strike from Wednesday.

“We see no other solution than to drive hard against SAS. We are therefore announcing a sharp escalation of the strike from next Wednesday, when we will withdraw all our cabin crew in SAS, around 550, including the 115 (on strike already),” Jørn Eggum, leader of the United Federation of Trade Unions, told the newspaper VG.

Parat, another trade union representing staff in the dispute, said it would withdraw its 240 cabin crew on Wednesday also.

The proposed escalation would likely severely disrupt the airline’s air traffic to and from Norway.

Cabin crew employees at SAS are striking over wages. Unions have said cabin staff at the airline are the worst paid in Norway, with new hires earning 27,500 kroner per month before tax and no additional pay for working weekends, evenings, or nights.

Unions also said that SAS staff operating out of Norway earn 15 to 30 percent less than the staff at competing airline Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Workers are also working for two weekends off per month to allow for a guaranteed work-life balance.

SAS has endured a turbulent few years and is undergoing bankruptcy protection and financial restructuring.

“It is particularly unfortunate to have a conflict in a situation where the company is under bankruptcy protection and restructuring and is still losing money. This conflict contributes to making an already difficult situation even more difficult,” Erik Lahnstein from NHO Luftfart, the branch of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) representing the aviation industry, told business new outlet E24.

Passengers affected by the strike may be entitled to compensation from the airline. However, those who cancel their tickets will lose their rights to a refund and compensation.

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STRIKES

UPDATED: What you need to know about the Norwegian SAS cabin crew strike

Cabin crew at SAS are on strike in Norway, here's what you need to know about the disruption, your rights if your flight is affected, and when the dispute could end.

Published: 23 August 2024 11:25 CEST
Updated: 23 August 2024 14:51 CEST
UPDATED: What you need to know about the Norwegian SAS cabin crew strike

What’s happened?

A strike was called at 5.30am on Friday after a breakdown in mediation talks between SAS, the cabin crew and the airline.

“SAS has not been willing to accommodate any of our demands. We, therefore, had no other choice but to go on strike,” Martinus Røkkum from one of the groups representing cabin staff said.

Talks between the airline, unions and the national mediator broke down on Friday morning after they started on Wednesday.

Some 120 cabin crew from two unions representing staff in Norway were withdrawn during the first wave of the strike. Another 40 staff could join the industrial action over the weekend.

Why has the strike been called?

The strike concerns wages and working conditions. Unions representing the cabin crew have said SAS staff operating out of Norway earn 15 to 30 percent less than the staff at competing airline Norwegian Air Shuttle.

“SAS has rejected all demands and wants the cabin crew to continue working under conditions that do not correspond to Norwegian working life,” Dag-Einar Sivertsen from the the United Federation of Trade Unions (Fellesforundet) said.

Unions have also claimed that SAS cabin crew are the worst paid in the country. New hires at the airline earn a salary of 27,500 kroner per month before tax without additional wages for working weekends, evenings, or nights.

By comparison, the average monthly wage in Norway was 56,360 kroner in 2023, figures from the national data agency Statistics Norway show.

Unions had also demanded two weekends off a month and a daily break away from the passenger terminal.

Meanwhile, the employer organisation NHO Luftfart, the branch of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise representing the aviation industry, said that it had offered improved terms to staff before the strike was called.

“SAS has come a long way both when it comes to wages and working hours,” Erik Lahnstein, managing director of NHO Luftfart, told public broadcaster NRK.

How is traffic being disrupted?

To begin with, the strike has only caused minor disruption.

“A limited number of flights are affected by the strike today (Friday), and we are now working to get as many flights as possible to go as planned. Affected passengers will be notified individually, and we recommend that you check information on sas.no for updates,” SAS said in a press release.

However, the conflict will escalate from Wednesday, August 28th. Both unions involved in the dispute said all cabin crew staff represented by them would be taken out on strike on that date. 

This would severely disrupt SAS’s flights to and from Norway. 

How long could the strike last?

The employer organisation has said that it will seek a resolution to the conflict “as quickly as possible”.

The airline itself has also said it would work on ending the strike promptly.  “We deeply apologise for the inconvenience caused by this conflict, and we are working hard to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Our priority now is to minimise disruption to the traffic programme, and support our affected customers with rebookings to alternative departures and provide as much additional information as possible,” SAS’s press manager, Øystein Schmidt, said to business news publication E24.

The strike comes at a bad time for SAS, which is currently under bankruptcy protection and financial restructuring.

This means that it may not have the wiggle room to deliver the demands of its cabin crew. Furthermore, a high wage settlement would undermine the cost cutting it has promised to investors.

Meanwhile, Røkkum has said that the union is prepared for a protracted strike in order to get the deal its members want.

“I am willing to strike for a long time if necessary, but I hope that SAS will come to its senses,“ he told NRK. The union Røkkum represents has 640 members working at SAS.

Another factor putting pressure on an agreement to be found quickly is that the airline will switch from the Star Alliance group to its competitor, Skyteam, on September 1st.

Schmidt said the airline hoped to reach an agreement that would be attractive for cabin crew and allow the company to remain competitive.

The planned escalation could speed up the process of finding an agreement given how much it would affect the airline’s air traffic to and from Norway. 

What are your rights if you are affected?

If the flight you are travelling on is delayed or cancelled due to strike action, you will likely be entitled to compensation.

The compensation could be money for food and other expenses, a new departure on a different flight or accommodation.

Passengers shouldn’t cancel their travel if they fear it will be cancelled, as they will lose the right to a refund.

READ MORE: What are your rights if your flight is delayed or cancelled in Norway?

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