Strike Threat by Finnair Technical Staff

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Finnair’s senior technical salaried staff is threatening strike action starting next Tuesday if the airline does not rescind proposed redundancy plans. They say such a stoppage would bring all of the company’s traffic to a halt on Tuesday. For its part, Finnair said the effects would only become apparent in stages.

The threatened industrial action is in response to plans by a Finnair subsidiary to dismiss seven staff members and transfer eleven others. A strike would affect around 700 Finnair technical staff belonging to the Union of Salaried Employees and, as a result, halt all aircraft maintenance operations.

Finnair: Strike Is Illegal

Finnair’s Director of Communications, Christer Haglund, says a possible dispute would not ground all the company’s flights on Tuesday. The affects would be seen as and when aircrafts become due for servicing, Haglund noted. He added that negotiations will continue on Monday.

Staff has given the airline a Monday afternoon deadline to cancel the proposed redundancies. The Chairman of the Union of Salaried Employees, Antti Rinne, expressed optimism that a strike could be prevented. However, this was not echoed by Finnair. Its Director of Communications pointed to the current economic climate and said the entire company had to make savings.

Finnair is calling the strike illegal as the technical staff has only given a three-day strike warning. According to the law, labour actions require a minimum two-week warning period.

Finnair is also involved in a separate dispute with its pilots.

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