The ACLVB/CGSLB liberal trade union said that it will not start panicking, following news that Lufthansa Group could reportedly let Brussels Airlines file for bankruptcy.
The trade union is looking ahead to next week's shareholders' meeting at Lufthansa, where the German rescue package will be voted on, after newspaper La Libre reported that the German company is no longer excluding the option of dropping Brussels Airlines and letting it file for bankruptcy, citing several inside sources.
"The unions will not panic," according to Filip Lemberechts, a representative of the union, adding that Belgium’s flag carrier has been “dead and buried ten times over.”
"I think they will eventually take responsibility, and not embark on a wild adventure," he told Het Laatste Nieuws.
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The Brussels Airlines employees deserve that the company has a future, according to Lemberechts. "The last few weeks, we have been negotiating every day and they have been constructive," he said, referring to the social dialogue.
An agreement could be reached in the coming days, he added.
As part of its relaunching plan, the airline in May said that it would dismiss some 1,000 out of a total of 4,000 employees.
The unions, however, say that they are focusing on the negotiations, and not on what is happening at the top. "I do not think we should get distracted by that," he added.
Additionally, the Belgian government is also negotiating an aid programme, estimated at roughly €300 million, with Lufthansa for Brussels Airlines.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
