"A major investor is showing politicians where the journey to a more social Europe must also take in aviation," comments Daniel Liebhart, chairman of the aviation department in the Vida trade union, in a report by the German aviation portal www.aero.de, according to which a Danish pension fund is getting out as an investor in Wizz Air because the low-cost airline does not think much of employee representatives and trade unions.
It is also time for politicians to rethink their approach, as low-cost carriers such as Wizz Air and the Ryanair Group have been trampling on workers' rights at the Vienna site for years, Liebhart continued. "The Ryanair Group has also been taking legal action against a legally elected works council for years and has repeatedly unlawfully dismissed the works council chairwoman." Politicians must put a stop to such corporate practices with legal initiatives. "The European Commission should also promote better working conditions and co-determination rights: the capital market urgently needs more transparency not only in ecologically sustainable investments, but also in socially sustainable investments, which requires appropriate regulations. Because, unlike the nuclear energy industry, a 'social catastrophe' has already become a reality in the aviation industry in many low-cost airlines."
The management of the Hungarian Wizz Air will not change its position either. The budget airline has now confirmed this clearly to critical investors. "The behavior of the (Wizz Air) management is not compatible with human and workers' rights, as set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, among others," said the head of the "AkademikerPension", Jens Munch Holst. In addition to the pension fund, 13 other major investors had called on Wizz Air to recognize staff representatives - according to media reports, the airline found this request quite annoying.
“Pension funds often receive our criticism when it comes to their investment policy. In the case of Wizz Air, this Danish pension fund shows that things can be done differently. The fund has now had enough after the airline has repeatedly denied its staff the statutory rights of co-determination, for example by establishing works councils," Liebhart continues. In Austria, too, Wizz Air has already attracted negative attention due to its strict regime towards its employees, Liebhart continued. “The establishment of works councils or memberships in trade unions are not permitted in the company. If you speak to employees of the company as a trade unionist, you can literally feel the pressure and the fear of losing your job if management becomes aware of union membership or efforts to set up a works council,” concludes Liebhart.