Bluebird Cargo lays off all its unionized pilots
 

Bluebird Cargo just laid off all their pilots that are members of the Icelandic Pilots Union and have a collective agreement, because "they are by far the highest paid pilots in the company, to increase the company's competitiveness" as it was put in their announcement to the media in Iceland. The affected pilots are from 5 countries, Iceland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. The airline was recently acquired by Avia Solutions Group that also owns Smartlynks Airlines and Avion Express.

Unfortunetely I haven´t found the announcement in English yet
https://www.vb.is/frettir/blafugl-se...monnum/166064/

The race to the bottom continues...

Bluebird was unfortunately bought by that shady outfit mostly known for running pay2fly outfits although good riddance Small Planet is gone. Probably Smartlynx and Avion Express are not doing to well either. ASG ownership hails from a country not really known for its honesty and law abiding citizens roaming around Europe...even if its headquarters are elsewhere.
Hope the Union uses every legal resource to throw the book at them.

Given their track record of the indigenous Icelandic airline entrepreneurs and financiers, guess it matters a little who else you go to work for.

Speaking of Small Planet, in their last Cypriot shell reincarnation, they paid all employees every missing cent due after the collapse and on time I hear it was too. Proper employment contract, and social security / health insurance paid as required. Perhaps it's worth mentioning the names of Primera and SAIL instead when discussing dodgy companies. The gold-harp operator of 470 aeroplanes of another island state, do they pay social security on behalf their employees at other places apart from the UK?

Sorry for the rant. If I tried harder I could have remembered, thank you.

Having standard and proper employment practices eroded anywhere in the world is sad news regardless where or why.

FlightDetent

Yes they do, in Germany Spain Portugal and Italy, apart UK and Ireland..you are just a bit behind...

Italy based crews pay their taxes in Italy, it's been like this for a while now.

fulminn

The more the better! Before I go rest in peace, just a SOP double-check: Employment contract, hopefully, same as you had in mind, means:
- it says on it "employed" by an entity of RYR holdings
- it list a fixed base
- pursuant to Regulation (EC) 883/2004 (hefty guide here http://www.eurodetachement-travail.e...obile_EN_1.pdf) the Company deducts and pays on behalf of the pilot the appropriate contributions to public health insurance, state pension and social security - to the tax office of the declared base country.

The full verse of suggestion is to check how many "bogus contract" pilots are there for those 467 aircraft, ergo out of approx 1600 uniformed harp riders. All the above-listed wildling airlines have what - 47 aircraft combined at full pre-covid steam?

Since the fingerpointing already is juvenile, par for the course is also finding out who started it first: RYR for atypical employment, Brookfield as the agent, J.C. of EZY for payed training - that's how far behind I actually am. Moutnain High consultants: incorporated in Malta, sitting across the McD's in Crawley. Or which agency tried to hire strike-breakers for A330 and B787 during the Avianca strike of 2017 for less than the Travel Service summer contract pay (who do full employment contract in France, btw, where RYR just refused and were ousted)? Not Aerviva of Dubai. :)

By their fruit ...

This is about Blue bird pilots.

Your're right. Bless them it turns for the better not too long from now. Unfortunately firing for union work is not unheard of.

I guess you haven't been truly jobless until you've been jobless on an island outside EU.

jobless on an island outside EU......that'll be UK then.

As per the latest news regarding this matter in Iceland, the affected pilot's went on a strike starting 1st of February and union members prevented contractors to step in as a result and a flight got cancelled. See below link.
Then what happened next was that Bluebird tried to stop the actions of union reps preventing strike violations only to fail, as the law's are not on their side. Since then, Bluebird has been bringing pilots to KEF only to let them rest at their handling company's office airside, so that union reps cannot prevent them from strike violations as the union reps cannot access that area.

https://www.fia.is/en/fréttir-fundag...nordic-strike/

Luftfart.nu

Bluebird has fired all permanent pilots: Now FPU (Flight Personnel Union) sends conflict warning

FPU suspects that the Icelandic airline Bluebird has a base in Copenhagen that is not covered by the collective agreement. Bluebird has previously fired all permanent pilots in Iceland and said that it will only use "self-employed" pilots.

FPU has sent a conflict warning to the Icelandic airline Bluebird. This is because the Icelandic trade union estimates that Bluebird probably has a base in Copenhagen. This has caused concern in FPU because the company that flies with cargo has fired all its permanent pilots in Iceland.

All the fired pilots were members of the FÍA, and according to the FÍA, the company will in future use pilots who are employed through a Dutch recruitment agency and who are "self-employed contractors", or what the trade union movement calls false self-employed.

“There are indications that the company has a base in Copenhagen. If this is the case, we will do our utmost to ensure that they work under orderly conditions, and therefore we have sent a conflict notice and a collective agreement proposal. We are very concerned about the messages we receive from Iceland. It is completely unheard of to fire all permanent pilots and instead state that you want to use self-employed pilots. It smells far away from social dumping and miserable conditions, ”says Anders Mark Jensen, deputy chairman of FPU.

Luftfart.nu and googletranslate

In a little over two weeks, the conflict against the Icelandic cargo company Bluebird Nordic will begin. The company is accused of using fake self-employed people and doing so via a base at Copenhagen Airport.

FPU has sent another conflict warning to Icelandic Bluebird Nordic. In the notice, the union has stated the date for the beginning of the conflict to be 1 May 2021. Thus, the workers' international day of struggle will be the starting date for the conflict against Bluebird Nordic's Danish operations out of Copenhagen Airport.

FPU's deputy chairman states that the union met with the company's Danish lawyer at a meeting that did not result in an agreement. But in the past month, FPU has collected information about the company's activities, and according to the union, all available information points in the direction that the Icelandic company has a base in Copenhagen with affiliated pilots.

Good. The Bluebird Cargo, FIA pilots need all the help they can get.

As a EU born, current US pilot, it is mind boggling to see every pilot in the US getting full pay or be on some sort of no fly line with 75% pay paid by the government.....
And we are all unionized in a country with very low unionization rates...

don’t have a solution, but the problem needs pointing out

One huge advantage though: Just one country there. Unlike Europe or even the EU, which is not a country, does not allow for transnational unions and therefore is easy pickings for every employer who really wants it, especially when times are bad.

Good point. The EU allows transnational airlines, even an EU (EASA AOC), but not transnational unions. And the glorious management of Wizz, Norwegian, Bluebird (ASG actually) take their full advantage of the situation.

Luftfart.nu and google translate

Bluebird Nordic refuses to sign an agreement for their employees, and the company has instead as of today chosen to close their base for pilots in Denmark in order to avoid the impending conflict.

This afternoon, an email ticked in at FPU. Here, the Danish lawyer for the Icelandic cargo company, Bluebird Nordic, explains that the company intends to close their Danish base for pilots at Copenhagen Airport. This happens just a few days after FPU sent another conflict warning to Bluebird Nordic.

The conflict should have begun on 1 May 2021, and aimed to bring Bluebird Nordic's management to the negotiating table and secure an agreement for the Danish-based cargo pilots. The conflict alert has now been suspended. This is explained by FPU's deputy chairman, Anders Mark Jensen

“Instead of negotiating some orderly terms in place for their pilots, the company chooses to relocate their base. It is a pity for the pilots that the company did not choose the negotiating route, ”explains FPU's deputy chairman, who also elaborates on the motives behind the conflict.

"We will not accept dumping terms at Copenhagen Airport, and the very suspicion that the used fake self-employed pilots has made us act decisively in this case. We will now support our European colleagues' fight for fair conditions at Bluebird Nordic, ”says Anders Mark Jensen.

More like the EU only cares about corporate profit. Bear in mind that the EU is based on a cartel philosophy. Transnational airlines but national unions is the case in point.

The Labor Tribunal in Iceland today has declared the layoffs of the Union (FIA) pilots at Bluebird Nordic illegal. While this in itself does not get them their jobs back, it opens the way for the pilots to sue the company for every penny of lost wages plus damages.
As for the contract trash that took their jobs… my opinion of them is unprintable.