Cabin crew and SAS management will meet on Monday for voluntary mediation in an attempt to agree a new collective agreement.
About 500 cabin crew members can go on strike if the parties disagree, he writes Free trade union movement.
– We always intend to try to get an agreement, but there are two sides and so far we haven’t seen anything on the table that we can sign, writes union leader Elin Roverudseter in the Cabin Crew Association in a text message to NTB.
– We still hope to reach an agreement, he writes, adding that they will know more at the end of the day.
He won’t accept a pay cut
After the pilots settled with SAS after this summer’s strike, it was the cabin crew’s turn to negotiate a new collective agreement. The cabin crew union, which represents 500 members, was in talks with SAS management earlier this fall. The parties have not reached an agreement. Now they are making one last attempt through voluntary mediation.
It is not known what exactly the controversial points are, but it will be about both a new collective agreement and efficiency improvements. Roverud has previously been clear that they have nothing left to do either for salary or working hours.
– We do not agree to lower wages once again. It’s really completely out of the question with a pay cut in a profession that is already defined as a low-wage profession, he told FriFagbevegelse ahead of the negotiations.
Trying to find a solution
Basically, one day is set aside for voluntary mediation. If an agreement cannot be reached, mandatory mediation will take place. If that doesn’t lead to progress either, it could end in a strike.
– Our goal is to find a solution as quickly as possible. Out of respect for the process, we do not wish to comment further at this time, writes SAS press officer Tonje Sund in a text message.
This summer’s pilot strike lasted 15 days and cost the company SEK 1.4 billion. 900 pilots were on strike in Norway, Sweden and Denmark and 380,000 passengers were affected.
SAS CEO Anko Van der Werff told last week a Today’s business that a new arrangement with cabin crew needs to be put in place quickly. In the new year, the SAS Forward bailout plan will come into effect, which includes a cost reduction target of SEK 7.5 billion annually.
