The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said today (May 10) it was "deeply concerned" that plans by Norwegian Air to begin transatlantic operation out of Cork Airport "appear to be driven largely by a desire to drive down pay and standards in the aviation sector."
Congress General Secretary Patricia King said the planned transatlantic air service between Cork and Boston "is likely to do more harm than good as it will undermine quality jobs and standards in the sector and will not create a single new job in Ireland, the European Union or the United States."
Ms King said the decision of the US Department of Transport to grant a permit to Norwegian Air International (NAI) did not appear to take into account the fact that the carrier was using a subsidiary in Ireland for the sole purpose of bypassing Norwegian employment law, allowing NAI to fly between the EU and US using flight crews hired on contracts signed in Singapore.
The move has been opposed by US labour unions and IALPA, the pilots" branch of IMPACT. It has also been heavily criticised by contender for the Democratic Party's nomination in the US presidential election, Bernie Sanders.
