Hard times for Norwegian
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NAS haven't got the resources to run an operation at Gatwick anymore, no company will give them credit facilities given their track record. The pilot unions in Spain have started a legal case against the company arguing that even though they had contracts with NAR Spain (OSM) due to the shareholdings and exclusive use of the crews, the crews effectively worked for NAS and thus they had employee rights. If the Spanish courts except the challenge it could tie NAS up for months while an agreement / settlement is made and blow any offers of funding out of the water, potentially employees would become creditors of the parent company and the courts may take charges over any assets, Given the value of these assets are fundamental to the NAS07 bond agreement it could get very messy. Guess they will want their ducks in a line before 18th May
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Besides Spanish courts, there will be more challenges coming soon if they keep playing the bankruptcy card around the continent.
One thing is to downsize aligned with laws and regulations and in agreement with your workforce, and another thing is to dump people as if they didn't work for you at all.
It's simply not fashionable nowadays and judges will eat them alive with very little remorse.
One thing is to downsize aligned with laws and regulations and in agreement with your workforce, and another thing is to dump people as if they didn't work for you at all.
It's simply not fashionable nowadays and judges will eat them alive with very little remorse.
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Red noses will not attract too many in times of a life threatening cold.
A bit much stick and litle reconcillation and presentation of possible plans for the future from Norwegian management.
Was it necessary to demand hand in of uniforms and access cards and cut them off from the systems altogether. Could they not just have quietly in the background changed the access for now.
You don't stop your kind of former enployees from suing you by being tough. Better with presenting possibilitie of future engagements for they who wait and see. Would you run to the lawyer in the hope of a relatively small sum at the cost of an acrimonuos departure, in a time when no one is hiring anybody in your field of work, if there was even a glimmer of hope with the present one.
A bit much stick and litle reconcillation and presentation of possible plans for the future from Norwegian management.
Was it necessary to demand hand in of uniforms and access cards and cut them off from the systems altogether. Could they not just have quietly in the background changed the access for now.
You don't stop your kind of former enployees from suing you by being tough. Better with presenting possibilitie of future engagements for they who wait and see. Would you run to the lawyer in the hope of a relatively small sum at the cost of an acrimonuos departure, in a time when no one is hiring anybody in your field of work, if there was even a glimmer of hope with the present one.
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I think under the European Aviation and Airport Security Regulations access cards have to be returned to the company/issuing authority immediately as a condition of cessation of contract. Failure to do so might involve sanctions on those that are still in employ.
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Any airline worth mentioning is currently negotiating massive layoffs involving unions and different possibilities like early retirement, part time options, spread of damage, seniority based redundancies, etc... This is not about not accepting that cost reduction is a must in the current crisis. Itīs about being a responsible social player and to care for those who support you.
Norwegian instead is just playing the lottery bankruptcy card like theyīre not liable for anyone and looking to the other side. Asking their own crew to reapply with their CVīs as if they didnīt know who they were. Cutting them off from their IT network without having firing them because they canīt pay for their redundancies. Suggesting the return of their property but still getting states to cover the schemes for furloughed staff.
The result is nothing but a massive breakdown of their whole workforce. Morale is completely out the window. The "chosen" ones went from rednose warriors to brownnose warriors overnight in hopes that they wonīt be next. Bases confronted to one another as seniority has not been considered at all. And a stream of court challenges coming their way.
A sad story if I ever saw one...
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Trying to be excessively reasonable is not going to gain SELPA anything, the only realistic course of action would be to have a court freeze the assets of the company whist a solution is found, if indeed it can be found. This arrangement of crews supplied via service companies is wholly designed to allow for flexibility in numbers and abrogate the client " NAS" of any financial responsibility.
You can't get blood from a stone and NAS is effectively on life support, dependent of state aid forthcoming after the meetings on the 18th May.
I find it hard to digest phrases such as "beloved company" given the way the NAS management have treated staff globally and people can sense the bitterness and anger of this betrayal.
The question remains, "would you want to work for these guys/" , once bitten, twice shy comes to mind!
Old farts like myself and my colleagues are not surprised, we have seen this duplicity a multitude of times, but for the young loyalists, whom were only last week pushing to "support the cause", these turn of events must be a heavy blow.
By the way, the uniforms form part of the assets, even the fuel in the tanks has been capitalised!
You can't get blood from a stone and NAS is effectively on life support, dependent of state aid forthcoming after the meetings on the 18th May.
I find it hard to digest phrases such as "beloved company" given the way the NAS management have treated staff globally and people can sense the bitterness and anger of this betrayal.
The question remains, "would you want to work for these guys/" , once bitten, twice shy comes to mind!
Old farts like myself and my colleagues are not surprised, we have seen this duplicity a multitude of times, but for the young loyalists, whom were only last week pushing to "support the cause", these turn of events must be a heavy blow.
By the way, the uniforms form part of the assets, even the fuel in the tanks has been capitalised!
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KG,
Absolutely right - anybody who didn’t see this coming is naive or inexperienced .
Surely , the use of agencies, to circumvent social responsibility , was first used at Ryanair.
And that is where the vast majority of the pilots used to come from - you reap what you sow.
Absolutely right - anybody who didn’t see this coming is naive or inexperienced .
Surely , the use of agencies, to circumvent social responsibility , was first used at Ryanair.
And that is where the vast majority of the pilots used to come from - you reap what you sow.
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CEO message dated 10th of May:
Dear union representatives,
With reference to your letter dated 6th May.
Many people have reached out to me the last few weeks since Norwegian announced on April 20th that we had notified both OSM Aviation and Rishworth subsidiaries that we have cancelled the crew provision agreements with them due to the extraordinary situation (force majeure). This means that we notified these companies that we currently do not require crew in the countries in which they operate, namely Spain, Finland, Sweden, US & UK.
I have previously held two global meetings with HSE & union representatives this year, a physical
th th meeting at Gardermoen 20 February and a Teams Call on March 27
. I will continue to have an open and transparent dialogue and hold regular meetings with the HSE and Union representatives in
Norwegian to give business updates.
For those unions representing employees affected by the cancellation of the crew provision agreements, then your employer will continue the union dialogue moving forward.
Dear union representatives,
With reference to your letter dated 6th May.
Many people have reached out to me the last few weeks since Norwegian announced on April 20th that we had notified both OSM Aviation and Rishworth subsidiaries that we have cancelled the crew provision agreements with them due to the extraordinary situation (force majeure). This means that we notified these companies that we currently do not require crew in the countries in which they operate, namely Spain, Finland, Sweden, US & UK.
I have previously held two global meetings with HSE & union representatives this year, a physical
th th meeting at Gardermoen 20 February and a Teams Call on March 27
. I will continue to have an open and transparent dialogue and hold regular meetings with the HSE and Union representatives in
Norwegian to give business updates.
For those unions representing employees affected by the cancellation of the crew provision agreements, then your employer will continue the union dialogue moving forward.
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Lovely reply from the CEO.
Basically saying your no longer anything to do with me goodbye.
speak to the agency that has zero authority to make any decision on your future flying Norwegian planes.
Rednose warrior my arse.
Basically saying your no longer anything to do with me goodbye.
speak to the agency that has zero authority to make any decision on your future flying Norwegian planes.
Rednose warrior my arse.
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What did you expect? If he actually did care he would have offered direct employment in the first place.
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Current CEO has been with Norwegian for six months.
Not defending past Norwegian hiring practices, but putting all the blame on this individual is ignorant of the facts.
I also find it a bit suspect that the most vociferous contributors on this thread seem to hail from Dublin.
I'm sure it's just coincidence that the home base of one of Norwegian's bitterest rivals happens to be one and the same...
And, I'm sure SEPLA, like any union, would be thrilled to have their proprietary, confidential correspondence displayed in full.
So much professionalism on display it's hard to know where to start!
Not defending past Norwegian hiring practices, but putting all the blame on this individual is ignorant of the facts.
I also find it a bit suspect that the most vociferous contributors on this thread seem to hail from Dublin.
I'm sure it's just coincidence that the home base of one of Norwegian's bitterest rivals happens to be one and the same...
And, I'm sure SEPLA, like any union, would be thrilled to have their proprietary, confidential correspondence displayed in full.
So much professionalism on display it's hard to know where to start!
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Current CEO has been with Norwegian for six months.
Not defending past Norwegian hiring practices, but putting all the blame on this individual is ignorant of the facts.
I also find it a bit suspect that the most vociferous contributors on this thread seem to hail from Dublin.
I'm sure it's just coincidence that the home base of one of Norwegian's bitterest rivals happens to be one and the same...
And, I'm sure SEPLA, like any union, would be thrilled to have their proprietary, confidential correspondence displayed in full.
So much professionalism on display it's hard to know where to start!
Not defending past Norwegian hiring practices, but putting all the blame on this individual is ignorant of the facts.
I also find it a bit suspect that the most vociferous contributors on this thread seem to hail from Dublin.
I'm sure it's just coincidence that the home base of one of Norwegian's bitterest rivals happens to be one and the same...
And, I'm sure SEPLA, like any union, would be thrilled to have their proprietary, confidential correspondence displayed in full.
So much professionalism on display it's hard to know where to start!
There do live quite a few norwegians in Dublin.
Norwegian was for a time quite aggresive in recruiting also in Dublin for the base there.
Many of Norwegian's forced new owners are based in Dublin so expect to here a lot more maybe not so welcome comments from there.
And for being new in the job. The past Norwegian CEO did not cut most of their employees loose overnight, even when times where tough. Schram is not helping himself either by bragging of his airline experience polishing planes in the Fornebu hangar as a youth, or telling everybody how he tries to be home every day by 17:30 Even tough that last part might sit well in Norway's work/life balance society, the airline industry is a competitive international business.
I can fully understand why Norwegian want to keep on the quiet their handling of simply dumping their international employees and its possible financial repercussions. But if a company don't respond to correspondence in a normal civilised and businesslike way people find other methods.
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Like the old saying: "nothing says thank you like money"...
This is not about communication or being or not a cheerful leader. This is about the law, and in particular the rules and regulations governing weather you can be employed or not by a fully owned subsidiary (not an agency or broker) which has no assets, means of production, nor any goals other than to provide crews to an exclusive parent company so that they can circumnavigate social responsibility and the severance payments associated with dismissal, including bankruptcy proceedings of such subsidiary when they are still alive and operating as it is the case. This is a no brainer and it will come back to bite them right after sentencing.
Whether the newly appointed CEO is here to stay or not will soon be decided by the new board as soon as the new owners (mostly Irish and American lessors and bondholders) take possession of their shares next Monday. My guess is that they will be appointing a new CEO with ample airline experience (and with an American or Irish background) who will be able to resuscitate this corpse and put it back in the air as soon as possible, and not next summer. And for that you donīt only need cash, but also crews and some degree of social peace among your workforce. And not having everyone confronted and court cases piling up against you.
This is not about communication or being or not a cheerful leader. This is about the law, and in particular the rules and regulations governing weather you can be employed or not by a fully owned subsidiary (not an agency or broker) which has no assets, means of production, nor any goals other than to provide crews to an exclusive parent company so that they can circumnavigate social responsibility and the severance payments associated with dismissal, including bankruptcy proceedings of such subsidiary when they are still alive and operating as it is the case. This is a no brainer and it will come back to bite them right after sentencing.
Whether the newly appointed CEO is here to stay or not will soon be decided by the new board as soon as the new owners (mostly Irish and American lessors and bondholders) take possession of their shares next Monday. My guess is that they will be appointing a new CEO with ample airline experience (and with an American or Irish background) who will be able to resuscitate this corpse and put it back in the air as soon as possible, and not next summer. And for that you donīt only need cash, but also crews and some degree of social peace among your workforce. And not having everyone confronted and court cases piling up against you.
The Spanish courts tend to be employee friendly. It will be interesting to see how this plays out should Norwegian and/or their agents get taken to the labour tribunal in Spain.
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Like the old saying: "nothing says thank you like money"...
This is not about communication or being or not a cheerful leader. This is about the law, and in particular the rules and regulations governing weather you can be employed or not by a fully owned subsidiary (not an agency or broker) which has no assets, means of production, nor any goals other than to provide crews to an exclusive parent company so that they can circumnavigate social responsibility and the severance payments associated with dismissal, including bankruptcy proceedings of such subsidiary when they are still alive and operating as it is the case. This is a no brainer and it will come back to bite them right after sentencing.
Whether the newly appointed CEO is here to stay or not will soon be decided by the new board as soon as the new owners (mostly Irish and American lessors and bondholders) take possession of their shares next Monday. My guess is that they will be appointing a new CEO with ample airline experience (and with an American or Irish background) who will be able to resuscitate this corpse and put it back in the air as soon as possible, and not next summer. And for that you donīt only need cash, but also crews and some degree of social peace among your workforce. And not having everyone confronted and court cases piling up against you.
This is not about communication or being or not a cheerful leader. This is about the law, and in particular the rules and regulations governing weather you can be employed or not by a fully owned subsidiary (not an agency or broker) which has no assets, means of production, nor any goals other than to provide crews to an exclusive parent company so that they can circumnavigate social responsibility and the severance payments associated with dismissal, including bankruptcy proceedings of such subsidiary when they are still alive and operating as it is the case. This is a no brainer and it will come back to bite them right after sentencing.
Whether the newly appointed CEO is here to stay or not will soon be decided by the new board as soon as the new owners (mostly Irish and American lessors and bondholders) take possession of their shares next Monday. My guess is that they will be appointing a new CEO with ample airline experience (and with an American or Irish background) who will be able to resuscitate this corpse and put it back in the air as soon as possible, and not next summer. And for that you donīt only need cash, but also crews and some degree of social peace among your workforce. And not having everyone confronted and court cases piling up against you.
Maybe having been a former CEO of McDonalds made Schram think he could just remove things off the menu he found not to his taste?
Last edited by BehindBlueEyes; 12th May 2020 at 15:08.
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Like the old saying: "nothing says thank you like money"...
This is not about communication or being or not a cheerful leader. This is about the law, and in particular the rules and regulations governing weather you can be employed or not by a fully owned subsidiary (not an agency or broker) which has no assets, means of production, nor any goals other than to provide crews to an exclusive parent company so that they can circumnavigate social responsibility and the severance payments associated with dismissal, including bankruptcy proceedings of such subsidiary when they are still alive and operating as it is the case. This is a no brainer and it will come back to bite them right after sentencing.
Whether the newly appointed CEO is here to stay or not will soon be decided by the new board as soon as the new owners (mostly Irish and American lessors and bondholders) take possession of their shares next Monday. My guess is that they will be appointing a new CEO with ample airline experience (and with an American or Irish background) who will be able to resuscitate this corpse and put it back in the air as soon as possible, and not next summer. And for that you donīt only need cash, but also crews and some degree of social peace among your workforce. And not having everyone confronted and court cases piling up against you.
This is not about communication or being or not a cheerful leader. This is about the law, and in particular the rules and regulations governing weather you can be employed or not by a fully owned subsidiary (not an agency or broker) which has no assets, means of production, nor any goals other than to provide crews to an exclusive parent company so that they can circumnavigate social responsibility and the severance payments associated with dismissal, including bankruptcy proceedings of such subsidiary when they are still alive and operating as it is the case. This is a no brainer and it will come back to bite them right after sentencing.
Whether the newly appointed CEO is here to stay or not will soon be decided by the new board as soon as the new owners (mostly Irish and American lessors and bondholders) take possession of their shares next Monday. My guess is that they will be appointing a new CEO with ample airline experience (and with an American or Irish background) who will be able to resuscitate this corpse and put it back in the air as soon as possible, and not next summer. And for that you donīt only need cash, but also crews and some degree of social peace among your workforce. And not having everyone confronted and court cases piling up against you.