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HELSINKI - Finnair pilots accepted a mediation proposal Tuesday that included pay cuts, ending a two day strike that had grounded 500 international and domestic flights and affected 40,000 passengers, the Finnish national carrier said.
Finnair said it will able to operate about half of its 200 flights Wednesday, and about 150 Thursday. By Friday, it hopes to return to a normal schedule.
Finnair said the pilots had accepted a 5 percent wage cut in the two-year labor agreement, and had "agreed to pursue" 13 percent savings in costs in exchange for job security guaranteed until the end of 2011.
"In addition to structural changes, we achieved ... significant short-term cost savings," said Anssi Komulainen, head of Finnair personnel. "It's good that we reached a compromise solution and that the strike, which was so distressing for our customers, will end."
The chairman of the Finnish Airline Pilots' Association, Kristian Rintala, said he was pleased with the pact despite the wage cuts.
"This will be the worst agreement we have made from a monetary point of view, but it shows that money wasn't important for us," Rintala said. "What was important was the principle that all 800 Finnair pilots can be sure that they will have a secure job next year and even after that."
On Saturday, the union rejected National Conciliator Esa Lonka's previous proposal, saying it did not address the problem of outsourcing, including using non-Finnair crews on Finnair flights.
The strike came as the Finnish airline struggles with the recession. Finnair said had lost euro3 million ($4.5 million) a day during the strike.
In 2008, the airline cut 500 jobs after personnel rejected proposals for pay cuts. This year, Finnair cut 200 jobs and in April began temporary layoffs of 6,000 workers, spread out through 2009.
Finnair, which is 56 percent government-owned, flies to 50 destinations with a fleet of 63 aircraft. Last year, 8.3 million passengers flew the airline, down 4 percent from 2007.
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