Strike of Finnair pilots ends
18.11.2009, 09:08The pilot strike came to an end on Tuesday after Finnair and the pilots' union finally reached agreement on a proposal put forward by national labour mediator, reported yle.fi.
Following the decision, pilots immediately cancelled their strike. Finnair says around half of its flights are to resume on Wednesday.
The Finnish Air Line Pilots' Association says the two-year contract would allow outsourcing under certain circumstances. The new labour contract will also slash pilots’ wages by five percent. In addition, pilots complied with other cost savings plans. Together these will help the company save some 20 million euros, according to the union.
Both sides gave in on the contentious question of outsourcing. Under the agreement, Finnair can outsource, for example, two planes to the company Finncomm. However the planes will not operate as Finnair flights.
”It makes a big difference to us whether Finnair planes are flown by outsourced pilots or if the planes are leased to an outside company,” says Kristian Rintala, the chair of the union.
Over 500 flights had been cancelled during the two-day strike, affecting some 40,000 travellers.
Finnair says it expects all of its flights to resume by Friday. The airline says that fewer than half of its regular flights will be departing by Wednesday. However, it adds that around 75 percent of its flights will be running normally by Thursday.
The airline says it will attempt to reach all passengers concerning their flight information. Finnair will first try to reach passengers by phone. Text messages will also be sent. Finnair also recommends that customers check out the company's website for up-to-date information on flight status.