2023-11-23 20:10:00
“The staff are aiming for the Christmas holidays,” the Flemish union ACV Puls recently indicated. “It’s not fun for the traveler. But it’s not the workers’ fault, it’s the employer’s.” The risk of cascading work stoppages during the end-of-year holidays is all the more serious as the pilots, represented by other union leaders, themselves filed a strike notice yesterday. A letter which circulated among the staff of the Belgian company mentioned work stoppages, “from December 11”. “We will stop this cycle of strikes only when our demands are met,” explained the letter dated November 19.
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This is no picnic for the traveler. But it’s not the workers’ fault, it’s the employer’s.
If they are not identical, the grievances of pilots, hostesses and stewards converge on one point: the staff are working at a “hellish pace” for “crisis salaries”. Representatives of stewards and hostesses also denounce the non-compliance with certain collective labor agreements, and in particular the fact that the airline’s management recently overstepped consultation with the unions before publishing staff schedules. “A drop of water that broke the camel’s back”, illustrates Didier Lebbe.
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“Lack of stewards and hostesses”
Another worker grievance: the salary agreements concluded at the time of the 2020 restructuring – during which nearly 1,000 people out of around 4,000 had to leave the company – are still in force while the company recently reported a return to profits. At the time, employees had to make significant sacrifices in their salaries to prevent Brussels Airlines from going bankrupt. It was agreed that these salaries would be rehabilitated once the good times returned for the company. However, the Belgian company has just had the most profitable summer in its history. The Lufthansa subsidiary plans to achieve record annual results in 2023 and aims to break even in the fourth quarter.
“After losing a quarter of its staff three years ago, the company now realizes that it lacks stewards and hostesses, regrets Didier Lebbe. However, this is a profession for which you must be perfectly trained in order to ensure the safety of passengers and the responsibility for a flight can sometimes exceed 8 to 9 hours.”
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After shedding a quarter of its staff three years ago, the company now realizes it is short of stewards and hostesses.
When publishing its quarterly results at the beginning of the month, Brussels Airlines indicated that it planned to recruit around 360 new employees in 2024. The company currently employs around 3,400 people.
The last strikes by the carrier’s cabin crew date back to December 2021 and June 2022. The unions then wanted to denounce a workload that was too high for the staff.
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