The Brussels Airlines pilots strike initially supposed to take place from 23 to 27 March has been postponed by e few days, now falling exactly on the Easter weekend (27 to 30 March).
The BBTK union representing the pilots called off the 4-day strike on Tuesday evening, as negotiations with the airline seemed to be going well. Talks were bound to continue on Wednesday, with both parts having high hopes of reaching an agreement. Yesterday however, the talks broke down and the strike was rescheduled, but from 27 to 30 March, coinciding with the beginning of the Easter holidays in Belgium.
“We gave the talks every chance, but it didn’t work out”, said BBTK secretary Olivier Van Camp. “Management insisted on additional conditions that were unacceptable.”
The walkout is the latest move in an ongoing industrial dispute over pay and working conditions. Unions claim Brussels Airlines is not doing enough to redress cuts that were made during the Covid-19 pandemic and, they note, the airline made record figures last year, with an operating (gross) profit of €53 million, finally turning to positive results after posting a gross loss of €74 million in 2022.
Previous offers from the airline included a 0.5% pay increase for ground staff in response to a 12.5% request – the gulf between the demand and the offer causing widespread indignation. Although on Tuesday it seemed like the two sides were headed towards some middle ground, according to Van Camp, management wanted to offset some of the higher wages by giving pilots less weekend rest, which the unions found unacceptable.
Addressing complaints about the unequal distribution of airlines’ profits, Brussels Airlines said on 15 March that the improvement in the carrier’s fortunes “is not enough to undo all the efforts of the past years”. The company “will do everything possible to avoid a strike”, its spokesperson, Nico Cardone, has previously told media, but its approach currently views union demands as “unrealistic”.
The airline has previously proposed a 6% salary increase as a final offer. “Even if there are more strikes, we will not go further than this. We are at the limit of what we can offer”, Brussels Airlines CEO Dorothea von Boxberg said at the beginning of March.
Since the beginning of the year, employee walkouts from pilots and cabin crew have cost Brussels Airlines €4 million, according to Belga News Agency. While far below the €100 million strikes have cost Lufthansa this year, with no apparent compromise in sight, the actions could continue.
