More about the social dumping in the danish medias (dr.dk).
Danish low-fare carrier is being sued in court to bypass the pilot agreement.
The Labor Court has to decide whether Primera Air has violated Danish labor law by manning flights with pilots on contract at a bureau in Guernsey.The former Primera Air Scandinavia pilot Michael Ingvardsen now requires half a million danish crowns in custody after having worked full-time for two years for the Danish-based airline.
In a case that was prepared today at the Labor Court, he argued with the trade union movement that the airline has broken his Danish agreement by hiring labor from a brokerage agency in Guernsey.
- I hope a judgment will put an effective stop to social dumping in the industry. At least here in Denmark. I'm sorry that I myself accepted these terms to begin with, "says Michael Ingvardsen.
Together with the FPU union, he has sent a complaint to the airline, who is asked to pay a bid for two years' payback, lack of retirement, holiday pay and sickness pay.
It is money that the company should have paid if Michael Ingvardsen had been employed directly in the Danish agreement, which Primera Air has entered into with the Flight Personnel Union, FPU.
Resident of Denmark - employed at Guernsey
Instead, he was employed from May 2015 to May 2017 on a contract with Flight Crew Solutions, one of several brokerage agencies on the British Channel Island, Guernsey. The agency provides pilots and cabin crew members with the airlines.
Thus, the pilots on the paper are self-employed or contractors who charge their expenses rather than a wage earner.
According to FPU, this type of employment covers more than half of Primera Air pilots in Denmark. And therefore the trade union estimates that the case may end up costing the airline over 30 million danish crowns.
We believe that Michael Ingvardsen is to be considered a regular employee. Not as a self-employed person in Guernsey. And if we win the case, Primera Air has many other pilots who are ready to do the same demands, says lawyer Jan Gloggengieser Gam.
The right of employment has also been asked to decide whether Michael Ingvardsen can be considered a temporary employee if he can not be recognized as an employee.
"If the court thinks that, then we have a law based on the EU directive, which says that temporary workers must have the same conditions, including pay as employees in the user company, says Jan Gloggengieser Gam.
Primera Air in defense: Rejects all claims
Through a response from the Danish Employers' Association sent to the Labor Court, Primera Air refuses to acknowledge Michael Ingvardsen and FPU's requirements.
Among other things, the airline agrees that, in its contract with Flight Crew Solutions, it has renounced the right to be regarded as a member of the company and that it is not a temporary employment relationship.
In addition, Primera Air writes that, according to a compilation of his working hours, Michael Ingvardsen did not flew for the Danish company in the Iceland-owned travel group for the most part.
Instead, the claim states that 63 percent of his work in the two years was performed for the subsidiary Primera Air Nordic, which is based in Latvia and is therefore not covered by the Danish agreement.
DR News has contacted Primera Air in order to have an interview on the matter. But in the company, one has not wanted to participate.
Researcher: FPU and Michael Ingvardsen have a good case
Assistant professor Christian Højer Schøler, researcher at the University of Southern Denmark, has seen the documents in the case and believes that FPU and Michael Ingvardsen have good chances of winning.
He calls the case for a further development of the Ryanair model, where Primera Air has hired the company on Guernsey to avoid being covered by the agreement in Denmark.
"There are a number of conditions in his employment, suggesting that he would be considered an employee," says Christian Højer Schøler.
He points first and foremost to the high number of flight hours Michael Ingvardsen spent two years at Primera Air.
And then it is against the claim that he should be self-employed, that he should comply with the company's instructions in all situations and not have to work for other companies.
According to Christian Højer Schøler, here is Michael Ingvardsen's duty to perform his work in the cockpit personally.
- The self-employed person may send another to perform the task because it is a contract with a result to be delivered while an employee will have to meet personally because it is a personal employment.