SAS forces us to go on strike

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SAS forces us to go on strike
SAS’s answer: They have a strike culture

Published: Just now

30,000 passengers are expected to be affected by the strike at SAS.

Outraged comments are now raging on the pilot union’s Facebook page.

But according to Martin Lindgren, chairman, no far-reaching demands are made on SAS.

– We have ended up in an absurd situation where we strike for deteriorating conditions.

Yesterday, after months of negotiations, the talks between SAS and the Swedish Pilot Association broke down. 900 pilots go on strike.

According to SAS, it is now estimated that half of all flights will be canceled and 30,000 passengers will be affected. On the Swedish Pilot Association’s Facebook, the reactions have not been long in coming.

“You in the pilot association are probably Sweden’s least popular people right now,” writes one user.

Another writes:

… If the goal is to harm families who can finally complete a long-awaited journey, it’s in the middle of nowhere!

“They force us out on strike”

But according to the pilots, SAS is responsible for the gravel holiday plans.

– They choose to force us out on strike, it is completely incomprehensible. We have now ended up in an absurd situation where we are on strike for deteriorating conditions.

Martin Lindgren says that the union’s main demand is that the more than 500 pilots who were laid off during the pandemic be re-employed – not forced to apply for new positions in other SAS companies, where conditions are worse.

– We have long been exposed to the dismissal of loyal employees and then hiring pilots in mailbox companies and circumventing collective agreements and obligations to employees, he says and continues:

– This means poorer job security and that they can more easily get rid of employees.

FULL SCREEN According to the pilot union Martin Lindgren, it is SAS that is forcing the pilots on strike. Photo: Chris Anderson / TT

For no calls now

In the negotiations, SAS has, according to Martin Lindgren, demanded greater savings on the pilots than any other staff.

Today, SAS pilots work up to 47.5 hours per week in three shifts, where overnight stays from home, transport to work and on-call time are not included. The summer vacation is 18 days.

According to him, SAS demands, among other things, that the pilots increase their working hours, accept lower wages and give up their summer holidays completely.

At several of the points, SAS has met, according to Lindgren.

Do you have any contact with each other or for any conversations now?

– No, we will see how it will be later in the day, he says.

Loses 100-150 million per day

There is currently no forecast for when the strike may be over. During Tuesday, 260 flights have been canceled and the opportunity to book airline tickets has been paused until 10 July. According to Karin Nyman, communications manager at SAS, the airline bleeds SEK 100 to 150 million per day.

She harshly criticizes the Swedish Pilot Association, which she believes has a “strike culture” and says that the SAS pilots in Scandinavia have gone on strike five times since 2015.

– The pilots are a privileged group that demands more than everyone else. Now you risk everyone’s workplace with the strike, she says.

Regarding the union’s demands that dismissed pilots be re-employed and not be forced to apply for new positions, she says as follows:

– We can not go with changes that are not sustainable in the long term, it is the content itself. The only way to save the workplace is for everyone to contribute, says Karin Nyman, who says that the negotiation door is open.

According to the union, they will only return to the negotiating table when or if SAS shows “a real will to find a solution”.

Facts

That is why the SAS pilots are on strike

According to the pilot union, the conflict with SAS is that the 560 pilots who were notified during the pandemic have not been re-employed. Instead, SAS has used pilots from two subsidiaries that act as staffing companies.

Negotiations between the Nordic pilot associations and SAS have been ongoing since last autumn. In March this year, the pilots’ old collective agreement expired, and they have not agreed on a new one.

SAS has previously announced that 200-250 flights and up to 30,000 passengers will be affected daily

Read moreFacts

The conditions of the SAS pilots

  • Working hours are up to 47.5 hours per week, in three shifts. Then only the flight service is included, not transport to work, on-call time and overnight stays outside the home.
  • The SAS pilots have an 18-day holiday in the summer. They can also work seven out of eight weekends.
  • The pilots receive their schedule 14 days in advance, which according to the union makes it difficult to plan leisure time.
  • A newly hired pilot has SEK 37,712 in starting salary. You do not receive extra pay for nights, weekends or holidays.
  • Pilots’ wages are at the same level as in 2002. Since consumer prices have risen since then, this means that real wages have fallen by more than 50 per cent in 20 years.

    • (Source: Swedish Pilot Association)

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