Denmark’s AkademikerPension has threatened the Hungarian low-cost airline, Wizz Air, with exclusion, accusing it of violating workers’ rights.

The pension fund, which has DKK 26m invested in Wizz Air, and Ardevora Asset Management have sent a letter to the airline’s management demanding that it changes the way it treats employees. Twelve other investors and potential investors with USD 405bn in assets, including Storebrand, Bridgestone Hispania and PKA are co-signatories.

AkademikerPension director, Jens Munch Holst, has warned that time is running out, and if things do not change soon, millions of dollars in investments will find a new place.

“We are concerned about what appears to be a clear violation of Wizz Air's core employee rights, including the company's failure to respond to our request for a meeting to discuss our concerns as a shareholder. If the company does not react and formally fails to recognise unions, our only option is to divest our holdings and place the company on our exclusion list,” Munch Holst said.

The pension fund said that examples of opposition to trade unions and collective agreements are numerous, and in 2020 the company's CEO, József Varadi, stated that the company is deliberately against trade unions, as "trade unions are killing the business".

"Respect for workers' rights is ultimately about caring for the safety of passengers. There is a growing body of evidence that workers are being blocked from joining unions or fired when they do. This is completely unacceptable. Our message: ‘We are ready for the company's management. We are waiting until December 20, and if our request for a meeting is not met, we expect to exclude the company’”, Munch Holst said.

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said: "Wizz Air welcomes engagement with investors and notes the letter sent by a group of 14 current and prospective investors. As we are in active discussion with the investors directly, we cannot comment on any specifics of the letter.

“We consider our employees to be our biggest asset, which is why we have worked tirelessly over the last 18 months to preserve the jobs of over 5,000 colleagues, and to provide them with countless opportunities within our network to develop their careers. During the height of the pandemic we had to let go of around 1,000 colleagues, however we have re-hired many of those and are back up to over 5,000 colleagues now. We are also the only airline that has restored the salaries of all of our Cabin Crew and Pilots to pre-pandemic levels. We’re proud of how the company has acted throughout this crisis and managed to protect people’s livelihoods – this was only made possible because of the support of our people. Wizz Air remains fully committed to supporting its employees and to continue creating new opportunities, even during these challenging times.

“Wizz Air takes the engagement with its employees very seriously and we are confident that our structures and processes that have been in place to support open and transparent engagement are working extremely well, including our People Council which provides a forum for employees to discuss important issues, frequent employee engagement surveys and a regular Floor Talks programme which allows for a regular two-way dialogue with our CEO. Additionally, we recently formed a Sustainability and Culture committee for the Board, Chaired by Charlotte Pedersen, all with a view to dedicating even more focus on environment and people issues.

“Wizz Air continues to foster a strong community where we all support the same culture and values. We are confident that this will bring the company many new successes and this is what makes Wizz Air a leader in the airline industry.”

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