“White smoke, but difficult consultation” between management and unions AB InBev | Domestic

Last Thursday and Friday a strike broke out at the various breweries and depots of the beer brewer. After two rounds of negotiations on pay and employment conditions, discussions that take place every two years, it turned out that “the water was too deep” between unions and management.

A new meeting was scheduled for Friday. If that did not lead to an agreement, new strike actions would follow, the unions announced last week. That new strike will not happen in the short term: an agreement was reached on Friday.

The management has met one of the unions’ demands: the maximum purchasing power premium of 750 euros is awarded to employees. A number of other one-off premiums have also been awarded. Yet ABVV is not “completely happy,” says secretary Pieter Van Der Elst. “There is white smoke, but it is not wholesome. We have reached a standstill on recurring premiums, an important point for us. We left the table with mixed feelings.”

The unions also wanted guarantees of workable work and quality of work. No agreements have been reached on this, but it would be discussed later.

More generally, the ABVV secretary states that it “remains difficult to reach agreements with the management. It is difficult to find each other and both leave the table with a good feeling,” says Van Der Elst. “We often hit a wall: that is a cause for concern.”

This is also what ACV secretary Sander Mouton says. “There is very little flexibility from management. We have the impression that the instructions from above were very clear and that there was no deviation from them. It is an agreement, but it has been very difficult. There was nothing more to it.”

Van Der Elst does not rule out that further strike action will follow in the future.

WATCH ALSO. “We are not going to feel this strike immediately”