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Stord Mayor Gaute Straume Epland (Labor Party) received a surprise when he received notification from Wizz Air of a lawsuit against his municipality a few days before Christmas Eve.
DO NOT SUFFER: Stord Mayor Gaute S. Epland says the municipality supports his decision not to fly with Wizz Air, which he believes fully agrees with the book.
Photo: Stord Municipality (left) and NTB
Faced with E24, the mayor of Stord is very clear: the municipality is behind the decision that has made the airline look red, and will not reverse it, as Wizz Air demands that the lawsuit be dropped.
– We are not particularly intimidated. And we won’t change our decision, Epland tells E24.
Stord is among several municipalities that have made the decision not to fly with what the Wizz Air manager himself has called “an airline without unions.”
On Monday morning, the low-cost Hungarian giant announced that it would sue “local and regional elected bodies” in Norway over an illegal boycott.
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Mayor: – I don’t want to use them
Among those who have received the notice of lawsuit are Statnett, several counties and municipalities. The mayor of Stord says they received the warning “just before Christmas.”
– Were you surprised?
– Yes actually. But that they notify this demand also shows that the decision of the municipality has been noticed, which so far is good, says Epland.
The rapporteur stresses that he is not a lawyer.
– But from what I can understand, there is no basis for such a claim. In my opinion, the city council’s decision not to use Wizz Air is completely in line with ethical guidelines, says the mayor.
– We have a strict contracting model in the municipality, with clear requirements for collective agreements, skilled workers and apprentices. The fact that we do not want to use Wizz Air for business travel is completely in line with these requirements.
– The airline believes it constitutes one illegal boycott?
– Yes, this is how I perceive the notice of demand. As I mentioned, I am not a lawyer, but I do not see that we have violated any laws.
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Wizz Air: “Deterrent effect”
Wizz Air does not want to comment on E24 on Monday, but says in a statement that the boycott decisions “are intended to create a chilling and deterrent effect on the public, and have an obvious distorting effect on competition.”
In addition to Stord, the airline has filed lawsuits against the Agder County Municipality, the Møre og Romsdal County Municipality, the Bergen Municipality, the Viken County Municipality, the Oslo Municipality and Statnett.
Anyone can avoid being sued by reversing their “illegal” boycott, the airline’s message reads.
The mayor of Stord says it is not relevant.
– I relate to what the municipal council has decided, says Epland.
The mayor of Oslo, Marianne Borgen (SV), denies that they have taken an official boycott decision against Wizz Air.
But he insists the municipality wants to avoid Wizz Air and has encouraged people to do the same.
– An important political signal
– It’s about using your power of consumption. Oslo is a large municipality and a large consumer who buys many goods and services. It is an important political signal that we care about a serious working life, Borgen tells E24.
Borgen notes that Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) has supported a boycott of Wizz Air.
– In that sense, do you have the support of the superior team?
– Yes.
In a recent interview with VG, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi tried to soften the company’s hard line against organizing employees, emphasizing that “no one should interfere.”
In the same interview, however, the Wizz Air manager confirmed that they could end up closing or moving bases in Norway if employees unionize.
