– We have reached a pain threshold – VG

Updated less than 20 minutes ago

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It does not go towards a quick solution in the SAS strike, because through Tuesday, the proposals have been harsh from both sides.

SAS CEO Anko van der Werff asks in an interview with E24 the pilots return to the negotiating table and end the strike.

– Anko has my phone number and can call me at any time, as soon as he is ready to enter into real negotiations, is the answer from Roger Klokset in the Norwegian SAS pilots’ association.

He says this after the Norwegian SAS pilots had a large meeting at Oslo Airport on Tuesday. Both the pilots and SAS therefore ask the other party to call.

– What does it take for you to return to the negotiating table?

– SAS must contact us, and I recommend that they do so as soon as possible, Klokset answers, but points out that SAS must also show a “real” change in its position.

The same message comes from union leader Aleksander Wasland in the Norwegian Pilots’ Association:

– The members are together and we are ready to take the fight.

– How long can this last? Is this willing to stand in this for weeks?

– Yes, we are willing to stand in this for as long as needed, Wasland answers.

The pilots claim they have nothing more to give.

– No we have not. We have gone as far as possible. We have reached a pain threshold. 25 per cent on already competitive terms, 60-hour working week, five per cent pay cut, compulsory seasonal part-time for all pilots, says Klokset opp.

– I do not know where to find it, it is not possible simply, says Klokset.

When asked if the principles of the strike are so important to them that they are willing to let the company go bankrupt, the pilot leader answers:

– The consequence in relation to bankruptcy is up to the management, how far they will go. But the principles are inalienable for us, we have said that all along, and if there is one strike that we can ever stand in, it is this one, says Klokset.

About the latest offer to SAS: – I think maybe we have gone too far

In the meeting, the members were informed about what the pilots’ latest offer to SAS was before the strike. That is, what they put on the table of SAS – and said they were willing to agree to.

Already before the strike Klokset believed that the pilots had gone to great lengths to meet the company, that it was “in border countries if the members would agree”.

– We are just an extension of the members’ will, so we must get feedback on the offer we have added to SAS. We may think we have gone too far, but it is up to the members to decide, Klokset said before entering the meeting.

If the members actually thought they had gone too far, he would not answer after the meeting.

In any case, the offer made by the leaders of the pilot associations was not something SAS accepted.

Full war of words about bankruptcy protection

On Tuesday morning, SAS announced that they seek bankruptcy protection in the United States. It has provoked strong reactions among the pilots. The clock said the pilots felt cheated.

– This reinforces our impression that this is a deliberate strike by the management – to create a scapegoat, the pilot leader wrote in a press release.

They accuse the management of having trained and extended negotiations until the day before they applied for bankruptcy protection – without any intention of an agreement.

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The SAS chief replied according to E24 on the charges by saying:

– It is absolutely not true, we have been very open and transparent, was the message from SAS CEO Anko van der Werff at a press conference.

Chairman Dilling believed that the management has always been willing to sit down at the negotiating table to find a solution.

– We are ready to resume dialogue at any time, he says according to E24.

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