Passengers take strikers to court

23 July 2007

BRUSSELS – Six hundred air passengers are to take 48 firemen and security officers to court in October, in connection with the complete stoppage of air traffic at Zaventem on 13 April this year. The dispute at the time was about meal vouchers and the strike messed up the holiday plans of 26,000 travellers. The law firm, Advocava, based in Genk, who collected the complaints, brought in a private detective to come up with the strikers’ details.

“It has taken a long time to come up with the correct details for the 48 strikers. Their employers were extremely secretive about exactly who went on strike that day”, says spokeswoman Lieve Bijnens. The summons proceedings is a first in this country. If the judge rules in favour of the travellers, it will be the first time that strikers have been personally brought to account for economic damage.

The damages claim is for more than EUR 100,000. “The strikers are completely oblivious to the damage done to those people,” said Bijnens.

Subject: Belgian news