Tillitsvalgt i SAS: – Prøvekanin for sosial dumping

Rebekka Stensbø, leader of SAS Link, claims SAS has lower wages and conditions compared to SAS cabin crew in the main cabin. She says she joined SAS expecting to be part of the company, not a social dumping experiment. SAS Link operates smaller passenger jets (Embraer E195) based in Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen, and Stockholm, flying mainly within Norway and Scandinavia.

All 24 SAS Link employees in the Fellesforbund union are striking from Wednesday morning, over unequal pay. These 92 employees are mostly organized in Parat, while the rest are in Fellesforbund. Most Parat members have accepted a deal, but they are mainly foreign workers. Stensbø thinks some foreign workers compare their pay to wages in countries with vastly different cost of living.

SAS Link's forklift chief, Turid Svendsen, says they have "negotiated a significant wage raise above the top of the pay scale" and more variable bonuses. This makes SAS Link cabin crew fully competitive in terms of pay.

The union wants more predictability in pay and working hours. They get a work schedule 14 days in advance, but it's not guaranteed. Stensbø believes a fixed wage and bonuses are crucial for financial stability.

SAS has given a deal with fixed wages and bonuses to all employees. The company's surprise at the strike is that SAS Link can't get the same stability. Stensbø says they just want secure income to support themselves month to month.

Karine Skaret, SAS' head of community relations in Norway, is disappointed that the union rejected the same offer. She notes the variable pay model in SAS Link is common under LO (the Norwegian labor union). Skaret says SAS follows established practice in the Norwegian labor market, where the main union's agreement sets the standard.