If Trump lets the Obama permit to NAI stand, it will be a victory for Norwegian Air Shuttle’s lobbyist John Byerly.
During his time in the State Department, 2001-to-2010, Byerly championed breaking down trade barriers — such as rules requiring that American jobs go to Americans.
According to the Irish Independent, Norwegian Air Shuttle paid Byerly nearly $200,000 for his services, along with another $800,000 to Prime Policy Group, the Washington-based influence shop.
The lawmakers say Norwegian is “Norwegian” only in name. “Its crews work under short-term contracts, many governed under Singapore law; some crewmembers are based in Bangkok; and the company is organised and regulated in Ireland, ” the letter states. It also describes the Republic as a country whose laws permit “forum-shopping” for the cheapest labour.
The politicians’ claims echo similar protests by aviation unions on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association, and the carrier’s rivals, made to the department of transportation before it gave Norwegian permission to fly to the US.
However, both the airline and its Scandinavian parent, Norwegian Air Shuttle, have denied these claims and stated that crews on its transatlantic flight will be hired under EU or US employment law, not on the Asian contracts that opponents claimed it intended using.