After several days of uncertainty about whether strikes would go ahead, unions confirmed wage negotiations had failed and that Brussels Airlines pilots would be taking action at the start of the Easter holidays after all.
Wage negotiations between the management of Brussels Airlines and the unions representing its pilots on Wednesday failed to reach an agreement, the socialist BBTK union confirmed to Belga News Agency. The airline's pilots will therefore begin a four-day strike on 27 March running until 30 March, coinciding with the start of the Easter holidays for Dutch-speaking schools.
On 12 March, unions threatened to organise rolling "four-day block strikes once or twice a month" from 23 March due to the lack of agreement on pay conditions. They later announced a specific action period was scheduled for 23 to 27 March. However, this was postponed by unions on Tuesday as negotiations still appeared to be on track, and progress was seemingly being made.
However, Olivier Van Camp of the BBTK later confirmed that the talks had failed. "We gave negotiations every chance, but it didn't work out." He added that management put forward additional conditions that were "unacceptable". The unions have therefore decided, as a united front, to maintain the four-day strike, from 27 to 30 March inclusive.
Expected impact
The strike comes just several weeks after the airline's cabin crew staff went on strike. However, the impact of this was limited as only the French-speaking Christian trade union CNE called for the action. As a result, the majority of flights went ahead as planned.
"The previous pilot strike took place on 13 January and unfortunately, we had to cancel 70% to 80% of the planned flights during this action," Brussels Airlines spokesperson Joëlle Neeb told The Brussels Times.
She stressed that this did not mean the same share of passengers was affected. "We always try to get them to their final destination as soon as possible, often by rebooking them onto other flights." Brussels Airlines is part of the Lufthansa group; this allow it to transfer passengers onto flights operated by Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa.
Cancelled flights during a previous strike. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
"This time, we will also try to transfer them to other flights on those days," Neeb explained. The task force for this purpose has already started creating a list of scheduled flights to consider the next steps. "First we determine which flights should be protected, either because they are difficult to rebook or because almost all the seats are booked by tour operators. Then we see which pilots do want to work on those days."
Based on this information, the airline determines which flights are cancelled. "This will be clear in the next two to three days. Passengers who will be impacted will be informed by us, as always."
People whose flights have been cancelled will receive a new booking option by email. Alternatives can be found via the Chat Assistant or by contacting the Brussels Airlines Service Centre (+32 2 723 23 62).
Mounting social tensions
As is the case with the airline's cabin crew, social tensions have been mounting between pilots and management for some time now. During the Covid-19 crisis, all Brussels Airlines staff made sacrifices to save the company. For the pilots, this meant "an average pay cut of €14,000 a year and an increased workload with working days of up to 12 hours" to ensure the company could stay afloat, according to the BBTK.
Now, Brussels Airlines is posting record results, but this is not being reflected in staff remuneration. "Workers want to be able to benefit from that," the unions noted. Management has said on several occasions that it understands the demand to increase wages, but that it also has to take into account "the financial reality that is still fragile".
"After four years of heavy losses, Brussels Airlines was finally able to present a positive annual result a fortnight ago. However, one year of profit – with a margin of 3.4% – is not enough to undo all the efforts we have made to achieve these results," the company argued.
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Instead, management intended to compensate for some of the higher salaries by giving pilots less rest time at weekends, a proposal deemed "unacceptable" by the unions. Meanwhile, earlier this week, management and unions did reach an agreement on better pay for the airline's cabin crew.
Brussels Airlines has commented on the strike announcement stating it "regrets that the pilots' unions have left the negotiating table" despite a "considerable offer" from the company. It described the decision to maintain a four-day strike from 27 March as "irresponsible", adding that a strike will "not bring us any closer to a solution".
