Canada's largest union, the Canadian Labour Congress, is urging travelers to boycott SAS, due to the company's reorganization.
It has led to pilots being laid off and then rehired under worse conditions, according to Tim Perry, president of the Canadian Pilots Association ALPA.
– It's not acceptable here in Canada or anywhere else in the world, I think, he says.
This is the first time ever that the Canadian Labour Congress, CLS, has called for a national boycott of an airline, according to Tim Perry.
The organization, which has 3.3 million members and organizes everything from pilots to teachers and nurses, is strongly critical of SAS's reorganization, which means that all new growth will take place in two new companies that do not prioritize the previous staff or give them the right to re-employment.
– As we understand it, pilots at SAS have lost their jobs and have been asked to reapply, albeit with significantly worse pay and working conditions. And we do not think that is an acceptable way to negotiate or treat your employees, says Tim Perry.
He hopes that many Canadian travelers will opt out of SAS once they know the company's working methods.
”Management and board decide”
SAS, on the other hand, claims, in a written comment to SVT, that the reorganization will lead to more Swedish and Scandinavian job opportunities.
The airline also plans to amend its articles of association at the general meeting on March 17 to reflect the change. This will require active approval from the owners, including the Swedish state, which owns just over a fifth of SAS.
According to Minister of Enterprise Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson, the government expects state-owned companies to act in an exemplary manner by having a healthy and safe work environment and decent working conditions, but emphasizes that working conditions are a matter for the board and management, not the owners.
– SAS's staffing and management of employees are matters for SAS management and the board to handle and are not ownership matters. When it comes to issues of wages and general working conditions, this is something that must be resolved in negotiations between the employees' unions and the employer.
Source: svt.se
