The management of Charleroi airport and the unions of the Security Masters company on strike since Monday, agreed on possible solutions during a mediation organized by the Walloon Minister in charge of airports, Adrien Dolimont (MR). The unions (FGTB, CSC and CGSLB) confirmed that they were ending strike action on Wednesday. It is not yet known when the airport will fully reopen.
They presented Tuesday evening the memorandum of understanding to union delegates to endorse the end of the strike.
According to our information, these possible solutions have been received favorably, which should lead to an easing of tensions. Too late for a number of flights: for passengers who have a return flight no problem, the planes will land well in Charleroi. But if you have a departure flight scheduled for the next few hours, you don’t need to go to the airport. The decision of the management to close the site this Wednesday after the crush of the last two days was taken before an agreement between the unions and the management…
According to Aïcha Sayah, permanent CSC, the lot of passenger screening between two service providers will ultimately not be divided. “After two days of strike, we have finally managed to open the discussion and find a memorandum of understanding that agrees with all the parties. Lot 1 will not be divided.“
As a reminder, it is this point which has crystallized the tensions in recent days. The management wants to split the lot of passenger screening between two providers, which deplores the staff of Security Masters, the only current operator, who sees acompetition which could affect the working conditions and remuneration of workers.
The management of BSCA Security initially justified this option by the desire to find continuity in the service, a continuity difficult, according to it, to achieve with a single operator.
However, Aïcha Sayah regrets “that this agreement comes so late in the negotiation process where passengers and workers have been strongly impacted”. She concludes: “We hope in the future that this dramatic situation does not happen again.”
As for the compensation of travelers who did not have their flight on Monday and Tuesday, there remains a lot of uncertainty, travelers on Wednesday should however be reimbursed more easily, since the airport is officially closed.