STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -A pilots’ strike at SAS that has affected hundreds of thousands of holiday travellers entered its 11th day on Thursday as unions and the airline were set to continue talks over a new collective bargaining agreement.
The parties resumed talks on Wednesday that broke down on July 4 but they were unable to reach a deal, with negotiations set to resume on Thursday.
“(The talks) have stopped for today and will continue tomorrow,” said a spokesperson for Dansk Metal, the union representing Danish SAS pilots, on Wednesday evening.
Long-struggling SAS has said the strike at the height of its peak season is costing $10 million to $13 million a day while at the same time it needs to slash costs and attract new investors to survive.
The pilots employed in decades-old SAS Scandinavia, a subsidiary of SAS Group, have said they would agree to limited wage cuts and less favourable terms. SAS has said the concessions are not enough for it to successfully implement a large rescue plan announced in February.
Unions are also demanding that pilots let go during the pandemic are rehired at SAS Scandinavia, rather than having to compete with external applicants for jobs at newly started SAS Link and Ireland-based SAS Connect.
The carrier, whose main owners are the governments of Sweden and Denmark with stakes of 22% each, had on Thursday cancelled 201 flights, or 64% of those scheduled, according to FlightAware.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Stine Jacobsen and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
