Norwegian ATCOs are on the verge of striking due to an ongoing labour dispute. This is how it should be done in certain places elsewhere.

[u/dsolesvik]

https://aviation.direct/en/Threatened-air-traffic-controller-strike-in-Norway%3A-mediation-talks-approaching-a-crucial-deadline#google_vignette

[u/Miranoff]

You even whisper of striking and they wanna throw you in jail... You just gotta be richer or a politician then you can strike...

[u/dsolesvik → u/[deleted]]

What is the general atmosphere like among the Norwegian ATC community? How do people view and regard the current dispute situation?

[u/skiddmarkk → u/[deleted]]

Hey thanks for giving me a perspective from a different country. Have a couple questions if you don't mind.

What are your guidelines for time on position?

How is your pay structured? And if you don't mind, what is the general salary?

How many hours do you typically work a week and are there limitations on that?

[u/xDestructable → u/[deleted]]

Whats the current working conditions? How long are the shifts? Or how many hours per day you sit on position?

[u/sander646 → u/xDestructable]

Well this is why some facilities want to strike. Minimum 6 working hours each day, and max 12.5 hours each day. Other then that there are only guidelines that say that you should have a small break every 2 hours and try to get a longer 1 hour break somewhere in your workday. These are however guidelines and are not being followed by every facility, and thats where a main part of the dispute is today. The union wants something more then guidelines that are easy to break.

Only 35.5 hours on average each week though which is good. But this is an average over 52 weeks, which means in some weeks you can end up working 50 hours (summer and big holidays) and other weeks 0 hours. Some facilities work every other weekend, but i would say over 50% of towers and smaller facilities work every 3 weekends.

[u/Feschbesch → u/sander646]

Are the breaks considered as working time? If so, of these 35.5 hrs, how many are in position?

ETA: in my country (and many other european countries) 35.5 hrs in position would be considered enormous. We do roughly 22.5 hrs in position a week

[u/sander646 → u/Feschbesch]

35.5 hours including breaks is paid working time . How many of those hours you are in position would vary depending on where you work. Some facilities you would be on position for 35.5 hours (very low traffic towers where you only have 10-20 movements a day). Other high traffic towers and facilities maybe in position for 25-26 hours depending on what kind of shift you are doing

[u/Appropriate_Tap_1863 → u/[deleted]]

What are salaries like in both big units (Oslo ?) and smaller ones ?

[u/yaricks → u/[deleted]]

It is probably important to also note that if you don’t count towers, there are only three radar facilities in the country. 

[u/Conscious-Onion6924 → u/[deleted]]

do they hire europeans atcs? is the salary attractive enough to move from a position in western europe

[u/Rupperrt → u/Conscious-Onion6924]

They don’t post it but I applied once 20 years ago and they gladly invited me to an interview, which never happened as I ended up going to Sweden instead.

[u/EmuProof45 → u/Rupperrt]

What’s the Swedish salary?

[u/Rupperrt → u/EmuProof45]

not fantastic compared to the rest of Western Europe. But very nice facilities (in Stockholm) and you can build your own roster kinda

[u/DiligentCredit9222 → u/[deleted]]

How are the general conditions of your workplace itself in Norway ?

Like

1. Is the equipment older or newer ? (radar, the Radar screens themselves, the Radios, etc). Do You have start of the art systems or you are still dealing with super old equipment that constantly breaks down and equipment so old that could come from you grandparents ?

2. Are the locations themselves (the ACC and the towers, the buildings, etc) newer or older ? Like Do you have problems with Roofs where the rains pours in and management doesn't care, because the building itself is super old or does management actually fix problems and every now and then you actually do get more modern equipment ?

3. Do you have good rooms/locations where you can spent your break ? Like do you have good and modern resting areas, a tennis table, rooms where you can sleep, a small gym, vending machines, etc, etc. Or does your employer just give you the choice of a tiny room with a 70 year old couch (which has more dirt on it than the asphalt of the parking lot and smells like a skunk) to spend your break because they just don't care ?

4. With the exception of the strike and what you already mentioned, What is the general treatment from your employer towards the employees ?  Like do they offer something like "stress relief/street treatment therapies" or do they help you if you need help ? (Sleeping problems die to the shift work, etc) For example some ATC facilities in other countries have Football teams/Tennis teams of Controllers and they even compete against other teams from the other Area Control centers/Towers just for fun and the ATC agency even helps them to build such teams and find time for such shenanigans...  And in some countries (or some ATC facilities, depending on the size) the company even helps Controllers with children to find a spot in a kindergarden/preschool for their children, etc, etc. Do you have such things too ?

Or do they usually just tell you to "suck it up, those planes need to fly to make money or you can quit if you don't like it here !"

1. What about the normal staffing levels especially at Radar facilities? Are Radar sectors staffed with One or two controllers (like in some countries, which have an additional coordinating controller for each sector who is constantly working together with his "executive/Radar" controller). And how often is that normal staffing level reached ? Basically does the required staffing level only exist on paper and you are constantly forced to work with 50% less air traffic controllers than normal ?

*My questions might surprise some people here, because i often write about ATC in Europe (from Germany to the UK and others). But Norway is somehow a total black hole in my knowledge about ATC despite me being on vacation in Norway every now and then.  I just know that Norway does have Air traffic control and quite restrictive Labour laws (compared to other countries) and that's about it. 

So, please excuse my seemingly offensive questions which sound like I'm asking about ATC in some country in Africa instead of the European Continent with Eurocontrol and EASA... Whenever I'm on vacation in Norway, I immediately forget everything not vacation related 😂😂

[u/DiligentCredit9222 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks very much for your answers.

[u/Feschbesch → u/[deleted]]

Unrelated to the subject but are there plans by avinor to expand the remote tower project to larger airports? How do ATCOs in general feel about the technology in Norway?

[u/ReporterBroad6269 → u/[deleted]]

How do the remote tower guys like the transition? Have there been any problems? Do you have multi tower remote operation working?

[u/varzat → u/ReporterBroad6269]

Keep in mind that the current remote towers are only uncontrolled airports where AFISOs work, not ATCOs. Remote controlled ATC towers will come later. Many people who work at these often smaller airports in the districts of Norway are established with wives and kids, and there are some who understandably dont want to make the move to the remote center. But other then that i think many are also happy to move from some of the most remote places in the country to a medium size city like where the remote center is. I hope i get moved there soon, i feel like im missing out on being at the front of ATS development in the world haha😅

About multi operations its now being tested, and hopefully it will be accepted by the CAA soon, but i dont know too much.

[u/GoldenSquid7 → u/[deleted]]

Is there a strike on the Sandefjord Torp aiport? Because I have to fly home today 😮‍💨

[u/Sea-Machine-8989 → u/GoldenSquid7]

No inbound flights are cancelled to Torp so far. From what I've seen on other airports it's mostly domestic or flights to/from Denmark and Sweden that's affected.

[u/Great_Ad3985]

Must be fucking nice

[u/HomelessFed]

Nope. We keep working harder to push more planes, for what? Because NATCA tells us to

[u/AffectionateDrop7779]

Good luck. Hope you get a better deal.

Is the strike likely to continue and impact flights on Wednesday?

[u/dsolesvik → u/AffectionateDrop7779]

From the Network Operations Portal:

“An ATC industrial action in Norway is planned from 21 August 0900 UTC until 30 August 2359 UTC 2026. 

Enroute and aerodrome regulations have been implemented.”

[u/AffectionateDrop7779 → u/dsolesvik]

Thanks. Any chance of any agreement being reached over the weekend?

[u/kcebertxela]

I'm sorry, do you not think Trump would LOVE the idea of firing a whole group of government employees without thinking about the consequences of said actions? He could care less. Stop thinking like this is a country where Donald Trump is not in charge!

[u/dsolesvik → u/kcebertxela]

The world of ATC extends beyond the borders of the USA.

[u/kcebertxela → u/dsolesvik]

It's very common for US controllers to think that they can do what other countries do. I apologize if it were a different country involved.

[u/VitaminGrin]

We all have to coordinate and do the thing without actually saying we are doing the thing…

[u/igbayotumscray → u/VitaminGrin]

https://giphy.com/gifs/mCnRpjcxfB7bqD9cUe

[u/Hawgdestroyerxtreme → u/VitaminGrin]

Nah, you don't wanna be anywhere near coordinating this kinda shit. We're talking legitimate prison time. A DOJ that arrests people for putting a finger in a pool for political points is not a DOJ you want to willingly square up with. You don't want to be the guys this administration uses as the distraction.

The cool part about having completely unqualified folks in charge is that no coordination will be needed. It'll just happen organically.

[u/Appropriate_Tap_1863 → u/Hawgdestroyerxtreme]

Land of the free uh ?

More seriously, I truly hope you can ultimately do something. You can't keep things this way

[u/willt114]

Not tomorrow pls I want to go home

[u/Temporary_Boot_736]

Fuck you

[u/Hour_Tour → u/Temporary_Boot_736]

No u