Norwegian averts strike with last minute deal
Richard Orange - [email protected]
Published: 4 Nov, 2013 CET.
Updated: Mon 4 Nov 2013 10:11 CET
Thousands of air travellers in Norway can breathe easily after pilots struck a deal with airline Norwegian on Monday morning following a weekend of intense negotiations.
"This is a reasonable deal for both sides and we are pleased to avoid the strike," Norwegian's chief executive and founder Bjørn Kjos told TV2 after the deal was made just before 9am on Monday. "It is always the case that the parties give and take. This agreement is something we can live with and which the pilots can also live with." The agreement frees Norwegian to divide its pilots between different national subsidiaries, but meets union demands for a single collective bargaining agreement for all pilots in Scandinavia. "Although the employees are scattered between several subsidiaries, we will maintain a community in Scandinavia through an identical collective agreement," Hans-Erik Skjæggerud, the leader of Norway's Parat union told NTB. "Norwegian will have the necessary freedom to streamline, while we will work to ensure that its employees in different countries organize themselves." Parat last week set a deadline of midnight on Sunday for a strike, but extended the deadline after seeing progress in the talks. The strike would have involved 603 pilots in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, effectively grounding the company's planes across Scandinavia.
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"This is a reasonable deal for both sides and we are pleased to avoid the strike," Norwegian's chief executive and founder Bjørn Kjos told TV2 after the deal was made just before 9am on Monday. "It is always the case that the parties give and take. This agreement is something we can live with and which the pilots can also live with."
The agreement frees Norwegian to divide its pilots between different national subsidiaries, but meets union demands for a single collective bargaining agreement for all pilots in Scandinavia.
"Although the employees are scattered between several subsidiaries, we will maintain a community in Scandinavia through an identical collective agreement," Hans-Erik Skjæggerud, the leader of Norway's Parat union told NTB.
"Norwegian will have the necessary freedom to streamline, while we will work to ensure that its employees in different countries organize themselves."
Parat last week set a deadline of midnight on Sunday for a strike, but extended the deadline after seeing progress in the talks.
The strike would have involved 603 pilots in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, effectively grounding the company's planes across Scandinavia.
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