UK cabin crew working for SAS Connect win £4,000 pay rise

‘I strongly advise British Airways to take note,’ Unite general secretary Sharon Graham

Going higher: SAS aircraft in flight (SAS)

The Unite union is claiming it has achieved a “game-changing” pay deal for cabin crew based at Heathrow and working for SAS Connect.

In addition, workers will also receive a one-off £1,200 summer bonus for 2022, plus raises in overnight rates and other pay elements.

Staff who have been flying with SAS Connect for two years are expected to increase their annual wages by £4,000.

The agreement is for some staff employed by CAE Crewing Services Ltd – an intermediary providing cabin crew for SAS Connect, which itself is a low-cost offshoot of the Scandinavian airline.

Unite says: “All workers will receive a phased 18 per cent pay rise beginning with an immediate hike of 11 per cent, followed by a 4 per cent increase in November and 3 per cent in March 2023.

“The deal also reverses a 10 per cent pay cut accepted by the workforce during the pandemic.

“This year, senior cabin crew members with 48 months’ service will see their wages immediately increase by £4,789. Cabin crew members who have served the same amount of time will be better off by £4,019.”

The union’s general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a game-changing deal for our members working on the SAS Connect contract.

“It will see the reversal of the 10 per cent cut to their wages made during the pandemic and a substantial increase in their pay.

“Without across the board, drastic improvements to the poor wages and working conditions within this sector, the staff shortages driving the chaos at airports will continue.

“I strongly advise other aviation employers, including British Airways, to take note.”

Seven hundred members of Unite and the GMB union, working as passenger service agents for British Airways at Heathrow airport, have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a pay dispute.

No dates for a walk-out at BA have been announced. The unions must give two weeks’ notice of a stoppage.

CAE is a company ultimately based in Canada. The intermediary’s offer to airlines is: “Outsource your crewing services to CAE and take back control of your costs.”