Norwegian pilots said no to quadruple salary

Photo:The airline Norwegian

Norwegian pilots said no thanks to quadruple salary

In an attempt to curb the lack of crew in summer traffic, Norwegian pilots are offered double overtime pay to sell their days off. The answer was no.

 

The offer was conveyed to Norwegian Pilot Union (NPU) last Friday, according to Dagens Næringsliv.

The offer would be effective immediately and help solve the airline’s pilot shortage, which led to many cancellations this weekend and Monday. The double overtime would be four times the usual salary.

However, the pilots never had the opportunity to assess the offer. The NPU put their foot down and refused to accept a short-term, favorable deal.

– If there is an offer of this type, it is part of the collective agreement, and it will be negotiated in the usual way, says the head of the NPU, Halvor Vatnar, to the newspaper. He emphasizes that the offer has come because the company does not have enough regular pilots in the first place.

He further believes that large overtime wages will not determine whether the pilots are going to work.

Norwegian was hoping that pilots would waive their spare time

– Somebody might say yes to an extra shift when they’re too tired. In this job we must be on alert all the time, says Vatnar.

The company has refused to comment on the details of the offer newspaper has disclosed.

For the second summer in a row, Norwegian has had major problems with covering all scheduled departures with aircraft and personnel. This year’s problems are based on the fact that the company has estimated that the pilots would be willing to waive their holidays and that the delivery of a new aircraft model from the Boeing factory is delayed.

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today