No reconciliation yet with Brussels Airlines pilots after avoiding cabin crew strike | Domestic

The pilots submitted a strike notice last Wednesday for actions from December 11. Management hopes to be able to avert these actions, just as they managed to avert a strike by cabin crew in December.

The cabin crew of Brussels Airlines were supposed to stop work on December 1, 2 and 3, but unions and management reached an agreement this weekend. According to the unions, management has put a serious proposal on the table that staff will be consulted on in the course of next month.

The provisional agreement means that there will be no strikes in December, according to Olivier Van Camp of the socialist union BBTK and Tim Roelandt of the liberal ACLVB. Keeping December off was important for the company because the holidays and holiday season are just around the corner, and the unions understood this, says Van Camp.

According to the BBTK employee, the management has put a “serious and extensive proposal” on the table with financial guarantees and agreements regarding working conditions, rest and guaranteed income in the event of illness. Tim Roelandt of the liberal ACLVB also calls the proposal “defensible”. According to Jolinde Defieuw of the Christian trade union ACV Puls, the proposal contains good and less good elements, and it is now up to the staff to express their views on it.

The French-speaking Christian union reportedly indicated that it did not agree with the proposal, but according to insiders, it nevertheless joined the majority. According to Didier Lebbe of CNE, the union had “no choice but to accept the proposals”, but cannot rule out spontaneous actions by the staff.

A new meeting will follow on Wednesday to further discuss the details of the management proposal. Strictly speaking, actions are still possible after December, but several union sources expect that this will not be necessary.

Brussels Airlines is satisfied with the agreement with the unions, which, according to spokeswoman Joëlle Neeb, was reached after two days of intense consultation. “We regret that it had to come to this, but are happy that we can provide clarity to our passengers and employees,” the company said in a statement. “We are convinced that together we have found balanced and long-term solutions that offer our company and our people perspective and growth opportunities, as well as keep our costs under control in a highly competitive market.”