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Helsinki (22.08.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish national flag carrier Finnair is planning to hire 200 cabin crew members from a temporary work agency in Spain. According to the company CEO, Pekka Vauramo, they could be used "possibly to replace the company staff in special situations".

What this means in practice is a willingness to use foreign staff as strike-breakers if the need arises. The collective agreement concerning Finnair cabin crew is due to end this October and a new round of bargaining is expected.

The Trade Union Confederation SAK strongly condemns Finnair plans. "It is completely underhand to hire strike-breakers to replace regular employees before collective bargaining has even commenced", says SAK lawyer Anu-Tuija Lehto.

It is part of Finnish trade union rights that employees are accepted as an equal negotiation partner and collective agreements are negotiated in a proper manner, she stresses. "It seems to be that Finnair has no confidence in reaching an agreement with their employees"

Problems are nothing new

Finnair has, in recent years, often been in the headlines over their employer policy. Many services have been outsourced, salaries have been cut and employees have been very flexible in meeting the problems flight companies are struggling with today.

The actions of Finnair reflect an even wider current employer policy, Lehto says. "Threats of continuing staff cuts and moving work abroad is aimed at demoralising employees and getting the cheapest agreements possible, I believe."

Thelma Åkers, the chair of the Finnish Cabin Crew Union SLSY doesn’t mince her words when criticising Finnair. In an interview with the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat she says it is frankly unbelievable that the employer could contemplate recruiting strike-breakers in advance of negotiations.

Finnair is already using a limited number of rental cabin staff from the employment agency Adecco on its routes to Barcelona and Madrid. This was agreed in the staff reduction negotiations last autumn. Åkers reiterates that according to the existing collective agreement, agency labour can only be used in peak seasons.

SLSY and Finnair are already in dispute over whether the use of the Spanish Adecco employment agency cabin crew is rental labour or subcontracting. The case may end up in to court, Åkers says.

Currently, the State owns 56 per cent of Finnair. The company has 1,550 Finnish cabin crew members. It also uses Asian cabin crew staff on its routes to the Far East. There are also plans to hire 25 new cabin crew recruits from the USA, for flights to North America.