Brussels Airlines pilots consider strike

1 May 2007

BRUSSELS – Pilots at Brussels Airlines may go on strike sometime after 2 May. Unions are awaiting the outcome of a referendum on the collective labour agreement for pilots before announcing any actions.

Anita Van Hoof of the socialist trade union said this to press agency Belga. The plans for protest come after an incident involving a pilot who decided to resign. The man had resigned from Brussels Airlines after an offer from another employer, but the other employer decided not to hire him in the end after contact with Brussels Airlines, the unions contend.

Last Thursday a reconciliation meeting failed to improve relations. “The pilots have lost all confidence in their director of operations,” Van Hoof said at the time.

There haven’t been any further meetings yet. The earliest organised actions could come on Wednesday depending on the outcome of a vote on the collective labour agreement for pilots: this is linked to the incident because the director of operations is also the fleet manager.

Management at Brussels Airlines has said it laments the plans for protest. A spokesperson says that management has made efforts to restore relations after the incident but that evaluation of workers is an autonomous power of the directors.

Subject: Belgian news