Sps Geir Pollestad fears that companies with poorer terms will take over if SAS goes bankrupt. However, he does not want the state to become the owner of SAS now.
Less than 10 minutes ago
–
– The fight for Norwegian pay and working conditions, Norwegian pilots and Norwegian cabin crew has been and is important in the future, says parliamentary deputy Geir Pollestad (Sp) to VG and adds:
– You can be critical of SAS, but if they disappear and something worse comes, then we are one step forward and two back.
The SAS strike enters its fifth day on Friday, and the Ombudsman calls the situation is completely locked.
– I really hope that they manage to save SAS, says Pollestad who believes the company still serves Scandinavia well, but emphasizes that he can not comment on the ongoing strike.
–– Never more important than now
Thursday said Peter Frølich (H) to VG that SAS will remain as the textbook example of how wrong state ownership can go.
– I think Frølich’s proposal is both arrogant and historyless, says Pollestad.
He praises state ownership:
– Using state ownership, in collaboration with private actors, has never been more important than now, Pollestad says.
He refers to companies he believes it is important to have national control over: the oil and gas company Equinor, the fertilizer group Yara, the weapons manufacturer Kongsberg and the power company Statkraft.
Pollestad: Too much risk
Despite the desire to save SAS, he stood still behind the governmentand says the risk is now too great to go in with equity.
– But it is a good distance from there to attitudes that bankruptcy is part of nature, says Pollestad.
He refers to Frølich’s statement that politicians must “accept bankruptcy if the company does not have the right to life”, and that new ones will be added.
– There is no law of nature that dictates that aviation should be a hard drive towards more low-cost concepts and pressure on wages and working conditions, says Pollestad and adds:
– I want companies that serve leisure travelers and business travelers in Norway to be Norwegian employees in Norwegian aviation.
–In 2018, both Sweden and Denmark retained their holdings in SAS – which is 21.8 percentwhile Norway went out.
– We were skeptical of the divestment because we wanted to maintain SAS as a partly state-owned company – and a Scandinavian company.
He states that state ownership is not on the agenda now.
– SAS must be able to restructure the company and get back on its feet before it becomes relevant to assess, in addition, it is quickly the case that “sold is sold”, he says.
–Want Scandinavian model
The Dutch SAS boss Anko van der Werff has one salary of at least NOK 12.5 million. In addition, he receives close to 5 million for retirement.
– What do you think about it when the pilots are asked to take the plunge to reduce the costs to the company?
– I believe on a general basis that top managers have been overpaid. The differences become too great, and these top leaders are worth nothing without the rest of the organization, says Pollestad.
He believes state ownership can be used to take the lead on lower executive salaries.
– This applies in companies where the state is present today, in the business community in general and this applies in SAS, says Pollestad.
– Should the SAS management show more restraint when they demand the same from their employees?
– On a general basis, I can say that we are concerned with maintaining the Scandinavian working life model, also in aviation, says Pollestad
––
