Cabin crew of SAS go on strike in Norway as wage talks break down

Cabin crew at Scandinavian airline SAS in Norway went on strike on Friday to press their demands for better salaries and working conditions after wage talks broke down overnight, labour unions said.
 

Some 120 SAS employees went on strike initially and the number is expected to grow in the coming days when more staff members are scheduled to join the picket line, the two labour unions involved in the talks said.
 

SAS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the strike action would impact the airline's operations.

Norway's government-appointed wage mediator said he had been unable to bridge the divide between the two sides.
 

"There was no solution that could be expected to be recommended by both parties," mediator Mats Wilhelm Ruland said in a statement.
 

The Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions represented 640 cabin crew members at SAS Norway, while Parat, part of the Confederation of Vocational Unions, said it negotiated on behalf of a further 240, all of whom could eventually join the strike.
 

The conflict did not involve any SAS pilots, or the airline's flight attendants employed in Sweden or Denmark, but a strike could still impact traffic beyond Norway as crews are used across borders.
 

While details of demands at negotiations remain confidential by law, union leaders have said SAS cabin crew members are paid some 15 per cent to 30 per cent less than at rival carriers such as Norwegian Air.
 

"SAS was unwilling to meet any of our demands, leaving us with no other option than to go on strike," said Martinus Roekkum, head of the SAS Norway cabin association at Parat.
 

In 2022, a 15-day strike by SAS pilots grounded 3,700 flights.
 

SAS filed for US bankruptcy protection on the second day of that strike after years of struggling with high costs and low demand, leading eventually to a takeover by hedge fund Castlelake, airline Air France-KLM, investment manager Lind Invest and the Danish state.

 

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