The Danish airline union for SAS cabin personnel is threatening a strike on March 1 because the airline recently circumvented the union to hire 35 Chinese employees.

The airline saves money by directly hiring the employees. According to the union, a Chinese employee costs the airline a total of EUR 1300 per month, while a Danish employee costs EUR 6600 per month.

The union also complains that while the Chinese staff were hired, 40 Danish employees were fired.

Having the Chinese employees hired and working under the same union agreements as their Danish counterparts is the best remedy, says the union.

SAS responds that Chinese employees were hired to service the Chinese-speaking passengers on the routes between China and Copenhagen and the airline had previously signed individual contracts with Japanese flight attendants.