Wizz Air Director Denies Nectar Employees Organizing – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

At the end of October, the Hungarian airline Wizz Air announced that it would redouble its efforts in Norway by opening a base in Trondheim and opening seven new domestic routes.

But several unions are skeptical of the low-cost company because none of the employees are unionized. Norwegian organizations, businesses and politicians alike have said that they do not want to travel with Wizz Air.

In an interview with NRK, CEO Jozsef Váradi admits that none of the company’s employees are organized today.

– It is a choice made by our employees. No union and we as a company get involved, he says.

Follow local laws

Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) said she did not want to travel with the company when asked about it at the Storting in October. He said Wizz Air could not refuse to organize.

Váradi believes that Solberg should have examined the case better and believes that he may want to change his point of view in the long term.

– If you look at the facts, only half of the employees in Norway are unionized. In the private sector, 70 percent are unorganized. I hope we can measure ourselves by the same standards. I also hope that the Prime Minister sees the value creation that we bring with us to the country. Then I think he will change his mind, he says.

At the same time, he promises that employees in Norway will be able to organize themselves, if they so wish.

– We respect local laws and we will do the same in Norway. If our employees in Norway decide to organize, I will not deny it.

Don’t try to squeeze Norwegian

The investment in Wizz Air in Norway comes while we are in the middle of a pandemic. Changing travel patterns as a result of restrictions and the risk of spreading the infection means that many airlines are bleeding.

Among them is Norwegian, which lost nearly a billion kronor this summer. They did not get their wish for financial support from the government to be fulfilled. The government would prefer to have general measures for aviation.

Norwegian director Jacob Schram said it would be demanding for the company to recover from the crisis. At the same time, it means that the government with this opens the door and rolls the red carpet for companies like Wizz Air.

Jozsef Váradi does not rule out that airlines may go bankrupt as a result of the pandemic, but he believes that the problem for Norwegian is not primarily covid-19.

– Norwegian also had a problem before the corona pandemic. But the situation has dramatically worsened as a result of the pandemic, he says.

He rejects that the investment in Norway is an attempt to remove Norwegian from the market.

– We do not come to Norway to replace someone or expel someone. We are taking a step forward because we want to be an alternative in the Norwegian aviation market.