Calm is far from having returned in the sense of Brussels Airlines. As strikes have paralyzed airline operations for several days, unions say further actions could be organized “in the near future”.
The unions denounce the attitude of the company, which is only willing to negotiate on the workload from the end of August, while they are asking to resume the discussion as soon as possible, given the urgency. In this context, CNE/ACV Puls, Setca/BBTK and CGSLB/ACLVB cannot immediately guarantee social peace, they warn. The unions received a proposal on Monday to resume negotiations on August 22, they say. “Management wants to suspend negotiations during the holidays”denounces Paul Buekenhout, of the Flemish Christian union ACV Puls, describing this attitude as “slap” in the face of the workers.
A management-union meeting was however scheduled for Wednesday, June 29. The company says, however, that it will not be able to find solutions by then, explain the unions. “This is yet another maneuver to get through the summer with the heavy working hours of the flight crew”abounds Olivier Van Camp, of the socialist union. “It is unacceptable for us. We demand solutions for July, August and September.”
“Not a CEO worthy of the name”
While other airlines such as Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM and Air France, which are themselves facing staff shortages, are solving this problem by canceling flights, Brussels Airlines is only willing to consider this possibility for the month. of August, without giving any guarantee, still castigates the representative of Setca/BBTK.
The pilots and cabin crew of Brussels Airlines went on strike last week, from Thursday to Saturday. A total of 316 flights had to be canceled due to the strike, affecting some 40,000 passengers.
On the sidelines of this action, the workers’ representatives had sent an open letter to the boss of the company, the German Peter Gerber, asking him for an interview as soon as possible. The latter is therefore only willing to meet them from August 22, fulminate the three unions. “A CEO who does not take the time to listen to the needs of his staff is not worthy of the name”they say.
“We note that after a year of negotiations, playful actions and a total of four days of strike action, the management of Brussels Airlines persists in its anger and refuses to do anything about the working conditions of its employees, thus endangering the safety of its passengers”conclude the trade unions. “For all these reasons, we cannot guarantee social peace in the near future.”