New discussions at Brussels Airlines regarding the cabin crew's workload bore no results on Wednesday.
The unions filed a strike notice on Monday, though they've stated that they don’t plan to act on it because they don’t want the lack of agreement to impact passengers.
They reiterated that desire today, Bruzz reported, though some sort of action seems inevitable given the lack of agreement.
“The positions were too far apart to reach an agreement,” said Tim Roelandt of the trade union ACLVB.
Roelandt said that unions have made various proposals concerning employee breaks and better schedule planning aimed at reducing what they say is too heavy a workload, but that “management is unable or unwilling” to meet their demands.
Paul Buekenhout of the Christian trade union ACV Puls echoed the sentiment.
“We had hoped to move forward at least a little bit, but we are not moving even a metre,” said Buekenhout.
The unions plan to update their supporters in the coming days, saying they’re looking to “creative actions” aimed at “creating visibility” in order to avoid outright striking.
Their complaints regarding excessive workloads for cabin crews have been voiced for several weeks now.
The management already proposed the recruitment of twenty full-time equivalents, but the unions say the measure isn’t sufficient.
Brussels Airlines confirmed that Wednesday’s talks did not result in an agreement, and pointed to the business of summer travel as a reason for why cabin crews are experiencing heavier workloads.
“During the summer peak, the number of flights increased from an extremely low level to almost full capacity in just a few weeks,” the company said.
Brussels Airlines said the company remains open to dialogue and is committed to finding a solution aimed at easing the workload of the cabin crew.
The Brussels Times
