Part of Brussels Airlines cabin crew confirms three-day strike from Wednesday

Aviation

The Christian union continues the strike by the cabin crew of Brussels Airlines. The strike will last three days, starting on Wednesday. It is not yet clear how great the impact will be on air traffic.

After the announcement last week, the Christian union (with the Dutch-speaking central ACV Puls and the French-speaking CNE) confirmed on Tuesday that some of the cabin crew of Brussels Airlines will strike for three days from Wednesday. The unions do this because there has been no breakthrough in recent days in consultations with management about better pay and reduced work pressure for cabin crew.

These problems have been going on for a long time, says Jolinde Defieuw of ACV Puls. “For example, the high workload and the fact that there is too little rest between flights mean that very few people still work full-time.” And there is also widespread dissatisfaction about pay, she adds. “The cabin crew had to hand in 4 to 10 percent during the corona crisis (when Brussels Airlines had to restructure and was saved with a government loan, ed.). But while the company is now doing better, nothing has been added since then. And while the gross salary of stewards is already around the minimum wage.”

CNE trade unionist Didier Lebbe also calls the strike against Belga “inevitable”, after the consultations in recent days have not yet produced any guarantees of “structural improvements”. Lebbe requests written proposals from management, which can be submitted to the staff.

Christian union only

Striking: the socialist and liberal trade unions are not participating (at least for the time being). They are waiting for another meeting with management on Wednesday morning before making a decision. The Christian association is also joining the table. But there are not yet enough guarantees on the table to cancel the strike, says Defieuw. “And we have been discussing this for months.”

The management of Brussels Airlines “regrets” the position of the Christian unions. “These actions do not bring a solution any closer and are not in the interests of the cabin crew they represent, nor in the interests of the company and travelers,” the statement said. “There is a comprehensive proposal on the table and all union representatives agree to continue negotiating on the basis of that proposal. So a strike makes no sense at this point.”

The airline “apologies to anyone who will be inconvenienced by this action.” It is not yet clear how big the impact will be. A working group is now looking at how as many flights as possible can continue. A list of priority flights is being drawn up, including as many long-distance flights and flights with tour operators as possible. For other, mainly European flights, we are looking at what alternatives can be offered within the Lufthansa group.

Last month there was already a pilot strike at Brussels Airlines.