Finnair cabin crew have threatened to stage a two-week walkout if the airline attempts to steamroll through permanent pay cuts that could see average flight attendant wages plummet by as much as 6 per cent.
The Automobile and Transport Workers Union filed a strike notice with the airline’s negotiating team on Monday. Cabin crew plan to stage the strike between 5 am on February 22 and 5 am on March 8 with just two weeks left for the walkout to be averted.
The strike is planned to coincide with the half-term holiday across much of Finland and the rest of Europe. “The situation is unfortunate and the ACP regrets the inconvenience to passengers,” the ACP union said in a statement.
“However, the cuts in pay and working conditions required by Finnair are so unreasonable that they cannot be accepted. We have no choice but to defend the membership through a labour struggle,” commented ACP president Ismo Kokko.
The union has been negotiating with Finnair since the start of December over a new collective agreement for cabin crew but talks came to conclusion at the start of February with little progress made.
Finnair has called for annual savings of 5.1€ million from cabin crew wages which the union estimates to be an average pay cut of 6 per cent.
Cabin crew say they cannot afford to live on airline wages alone and are being forced to work second or even third jobs. The vast majority of Finnair cabin crew remain temporarily laid off as a result of the pandemic.
The ACP says it understands that airlines have been battered by COVID-19 but believes Finnair is trying to push through permanent cuts under the auspices of the pandemic.
Finnair is due to unveil a much-anticipated new long-haul cabin on Thursday including a new Business Class seat and the airline’s first-ever Premium Economy product. The grand unveiling could, however, be overshadowed by looming industrial action.
