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STRIKES

Fresh strike threat could ground flights from Norway

Aircraft technicians in Norway working for SAS, Norwegian, and Widerøe could strike, causing disruption for air traffic at the start of the summer holidays if mediation talks fail.

Published: 17 June 2024 12:50 CEST
Pictured is an aircraft technician.
Air travel in Norway could be affected by a aircraft technician strike. Pictured is an aircraft technician. Photo by AFP / Guillaume Souvant

Beginning later this week, the union representing aircraft technicians at SAS, Norwegian, and Widerøe (Norsk Flyteknikerorganisasjonand) and the branch of the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) responsible for the aviation industry, will have mediation talks on a collective bargaining agreement.

If an agreement isn’t agreed, 30 aircraft technicians will be taken out on strike – with more workers being taken out until an agreement is reached.

“The will to strike is great. If it is not resolved quickly, it is natural to register more,” Jan Skogseth, head of the union, told travel news publication Flysmart 24.

The strike could begin at midnight on Friday, disrupting air travel at the start of the school holidays in Norway. The strike could take aircraft out of rotation as there will be less staff to carry out essential maintenance on planes.

“The number of workers being taken out may sound low, but considering that there is already a shortage of aircraft technicians, a tight summer program at the same time as the holidays, it can quickly have a big impact when we have around 480 aircraft technicians in Norway in total,” Skogseth said.

However, he said that the strike would not affect flights that are critical to life and health. In 2022, the Norwegian government ordered an aircraft technician strike to an end after a strike escalation threatened to ground air ambulances.

When the Norwegian government orders a strike to end, a state body decides the outcome of the collective bargaining agreement and terms, such as wages.

Norway has seen several potential strikes averted in recent weeks. Both a pilot’s strike that would have affected Norwegian and an Avinor staff strike was resolved during mediation or mediation overtime.

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STRIKES

Strike among Norway’s aircraft technicians called off

There will be no strike among aircraft technicians on Friday and during the weekend, as negotiations between employee and employer representatives have been successfully concluded.

Published: 21 June 2024 09:30 CEST
Strike among Norway's aircraft technicians called off

Roughly 1.8 million expected Norwegian weekend travellers can breathe a sigh of relief – the potential strike by aircraft technicians has been called off, with the Norwegian Aviation Technician Organisation (NFO) and NHO Luftfart reaching an agreement.

National mediator Mats Wilhelm Ruland announced the successful resolution of the negotiations, calling it “one of the most challenging mediations” this year.

“This is one of the most difficult mediations we have had this year. It is extra good to reach the finish line in such a dispute,” Ruland said, according to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).

Both parties expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the talks.

The agreement, confirmed by both employee and employer representatives, was reached after the initial deadline expired at midnight, with negotiations extending well into the early hours of Friday.

Background

The negotiations had broken down in May, and a failure to reach an agreement would have led to a strike starting Friday morning, potentially disrupting travel for many as the summer holidays for school pupils begin this weekend.

Avinor reported that up to 1.8 million travellers are expected to pass through Norway’s four largest airports in the next two weeks.

A strike would have impacted maintenance and repairs for airlines such as SAS, Norwegian, and Widerøe.

Erik Lahnstein, the head of NHO Luftfart, expressed relief at avoiding a strike.

“We are very happy that we avoided a strike and that thousands of passengers are not affected by aviation disruption now that we are heading into the summer holidays,” he said.

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