After unions submitted a strike notice last Thursday, it has been confirmed the cabin crew of Brussels Airlines plan to strike on 1, 2 and 3 December.
The cabin crew of Brussels Airlines announced an indefinite strike from 23 November last Thursday. While the exact timing of the strike was not confirmed at the time, unions stated that "staff were targeting the Christmas holidays."
The dates were brought forward by French-speaking Christian trade union CNE due to dissatisfaction with the airline's management response. However, Olivier Van Camp of the socialist trade union said that this approach was not supported by the collective union. He stressed that although a strike notice has been submitted, there is still room for negotiation with management to address their demands.
Unions have criticised the company's disregard for certain collective labour agreements, which is a key reason behind the strike, including instances of management bypassing trade union consultation before publishing staff timetables.
Workers also deplored the fact that wage agreements, which were concluded at the time of the pandemic restructuring in 2020, are still in force. This resulted in approximately a quarter of employees having to leave the company. It also saw them being urged to accept lower wages to prevent the airline's bankruptcy.
Moreover, the Lufthansa subsidiary recently reported its most profitable summer ever and noted that it expected to achieve record annual results this year. This added salt to the wounds of cabin crew members for whom working conditions have remained unchanged.
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CNE secretary Didier Lebbe has stressed this only represents a "first warning shot." He is urging Brussels Airlines to present "more serious" proposals than those tabled for Friday's meeting, during which union representatives can air their grievances. Lebbe also argued that the company should already be aware of these issues, as they have been championed by staff representatives for months, and in the past have resulted in strike actions.
Should they fail to take the matter seriously, the union has warned that further industrial actions may be in the offing. Brussels Airlines pilots also submitted a strike notice on Wednesday, with potential actions from 11 December. Among ongoing anger regarding the lack of resting time for pilots, the final straw came when their timetables were announced for the busy end-of-year period.
