Dear Norwegian pilots,
as we write this letter NPU (the pilot union representing our colleagues in Scandinavia) and the management of our airline are trying to negotiate a solution to the various issues on the discussion table.
We will not go into the details of the actual negotiations now but we would only like to highlight the fact that the positions of the two parties are very far apart.
Generally speaking our company wants to lower the terms & conditions of the NAN pilots (those permanently employed in Scandinavia) by making direct comparison with the terms & conditions of those pilots employed elsewhere by ARPI,PARC, OSM and NAR Spain on much lower conditions de-facto trying to create a new benchmark.
To add some extra drama to the situation our company is threatening the bankruptcy of NAN and therefore the layoffs of the NAN pilots in an attempt to put pressure on NPU to accept the lower conditions proposed by our management.
It is also now very obvious how the management is using these different setups (NAN,OSM,NAR Spain,NAR Finland, the agencies etc.) to put us one pilot group against the other as if we were working for completely different airlines.
This is a scenario many have witnessed in the recent past in other companies like Ryanair and its detrimental effects on our jobs are now well known to most, such developments are obviously an un-acceptable solution for our common long term plans in a company that wants to become not only a European powerhouse but also a global player.
Based on the situation described above NPU has opened up for a pilot strike of its members starting Saturday 28th of February at 00:01 hours.
In this context we would like to suggest all Norwegian pilots , regardless of base and contract type, NOT to sell their OFF days as a sign of solidarity towards our Scandinavian colleagues and in order not to undermine the outcome of their efforts.
Last but not least we are receiving information from pilots that they are being subject to roster changes as we write this letter, these changes seem to be done in order to position Euro based pilots to Scandinavia with the purpose of having them available to cover flights otherwise affected by the NPU strike, be it a standby or planned flight duty.
This type of behavior by the company might potentially be in breach of current legislation in respect of strike rules, we therefore urge all pilots affected by roster changes in the upcoming days to send their original roster as well as the roster change to the following email address:
[email protected]
All info sent will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.
Best Regards,
Norwegian SEPLA