Mediator in Finnair pilots’ labour dispute switched over doubts on impartiality

Preferred seating on holiday flight sets off alarm

Juhani Salonius

Esa Lonka

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The Finnish Air Line Pilots’ Association (SLL) has doubts about the impartiality of ongoing labour contract talks with the airline Finnair.
      The pilots suspect that the management side might have tried to influence the impartiality of the work of National Conciliator Juhani Salonius in the talks.
      “Unfortunately we have very strong cause to suspect that there have been attempts to influence the decisions of the National Conciliator through questionable means outside the negotiating table”, said SLL chairman Timo Willberg on Tuesday.
      Salonius, for his part, told Helsingin Sanomat that he does not now how he was supposed to have been influenced.
     
The issue involves treatment afforded to Salonius during a holiday trip to Thailand.
      According to Finnair, Salonius had bought a ticket for a package tour from a travel agency, and asked to be assigned a seat row at an emergency exit. Salonius has a hip injury, and would have liked more sitting space for that reason.
      However, security regulations would not allow for him to sit at an exit seat, and he was moved up to business class instead. Finnair’s head of personnel Anssi Komulainen says that this is standard practice with passengers with a physical disability.
      He said that Salonius had no advance information about the switch.
     
The pilots allege that Finnair was actually trying to influence Salonius in the mediation effort.
      Talks on the labour contracts of about 750 Finnair pilots have been going on since November.
      The pilots proposed on Tuesday that someone other than Salonius take over the mediation. “It is only in this way that we can absolutely trust the impartiality of the mediation”, Willberg said.
     
Salonius reacted immediately by handing the case to his deputy Esa Lonka.
      The pilots want a thorough accounting by an outside, impartial entity of the attempts to affect the final results of the mediation. Salonius dislikes the innuendo, and also calls for a rapid clarification.
      “I think that it is good, that since a notion like this has been tossed out, that the issue should be clarified”, Salonius says.
      SLL plans to ask Vantaa police to examine the matter.
     
Industrial action by the pilots was called off on Sunday night, even though the SLL turned down the National Conciliator’s proposal for a settlement.
      Talks are to continue today.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnair pilots´ strike averted last night (23.2.2009)

Helsingin Sanomat