Minister Verlinden demands agents after aviation police strike | Inland

That reports CGSP-Admi, the French-speaking counterpart of ACOD Public Services. The socialist trade union calls on Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and the government to take matters into their own hands again in order to get out of the impasse. The agents have been requisitioned so that there is sufficient staff to perform essential services and guarantee safety, the Verlinden cabinet confirms.

Earlier, the joint trade union front (ACV Public Services, ACOD Public Services, NSPV and VSOA Police) had asked Verlinden to withdraw the announced austerity plan because it would jeopardize safety. But as the matter failed to materialise, they activated a strike notice that runs from Friday, August 26 to Sunday, September 4.

In response to this, Verlinden has now requisitioned agents, said Eddy Quaino, representative of CGSP-Admi. “We regret the attitude of the minister, who ignores the security issues at the country’s airports. I think Verlinden will hand this over to the prime minister and the government.”

In a response, the Verlinden cabinet points out that the federal government has invested 310 million euros in the integrated police, say the federal and local police together. “However, the federal police are aware that resources are not unlimited, and that resources must be used efficiently. That is why the Directorate of the Federal Aviation Police has decided that in Liège, when there are no passenger flights, the night shift has three instead of five staff. In Ostend, one person less is deployed every night when no passenger flights arrive. The staffing levels in Zaventem and Charleroi will not change,” it sounds.

“The management assures us that the safety of the passengers will not be endangered,” the Verlinden cabinet continues. “Staff must be present in sufficient numbers to perform essential services such as border checks and ensure security at airports. That is why the police officers are requisitioned.”

On Wednesday the staff of the airport of Liège will be together, Thursday actions could possibly follow there. But actions could also take place at Charleroi and Zaventem airports in the coming days, the common union front warned on Monday. It is still unclear what form the actions would take.