Republican Senator, Rick Larsen, has opposed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s decision to tentatively grant a foreign air carrier permit through a show cause order to Norwegian Air International over concerns that the carrier will be able to avoid certain protections for workers. This pertains to Norwegian Air International’s intention to hire crews via a Singapore company, which allegedly allows it to avoid Norwegian labor and social laws. As a result, Larsen has urged DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx to give serious considerations to NAI’s potential labor violations in a letter in January 2014.
“I am deeply troubled by DOT’s recent decision to tentatively grant a foreign carrier permit for NAI. In my view, approving this permit would violate our agreement with the EU to ensure that airlines doing business in the U.S. have strong labor standards.
“As the U.S. considers other international agreements, I want to be clear that our commitments with other countries are only as strong as our ability and willingness to enforce them. Without enforcement, our agreements are only pieces of paper. I will formally contact DOT about this issue and will work closely with labor groups, industry and my colleagues who are just as perplexed and disappointed by this decision,” Larsen said.