The trade unions representing air traffic controllers at Skeyes are suspending the night-time strike action at Charleroi Airport with immediate effect, to allow for new consultations on night-time allowances, led by a mediator.
The representative trade unions decided to agree to the start of negotiations on night-time allowances for Charleroi air traffic controllers, under the guidance of a mediator, according to Lennert Mervilde of the VSOA trade union.
"To ensure these negotiations take place in a calm atmosphere, we are suspending the strike with immediate effect," he told Belga News Agency.
“We hope that Skeyes will also seize this opportunity and that the new round of negotiations will lead to a widely supported agreement so that industrial peace can be restored,” he added.
On Tuesday, Federal Mobility Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés) had proposed external mediation to resolve the labour dispute concerning night-time allowances for Charleroi’s air traffic controllers.
In the context of the digital control tower in Namur, which will manage air traffic for Charleroi and Liège airports in the future, they want this allowance to be at the same level as that of the air traffic controllers in Liège.
Since the middle of last week, air traffic controllers at Brussels South Charleroi Airport have been on strike every night (from 22:00 to 08:00). As a result, several dozen flights to and from the airport have been cancelled every day.
