Industrial action is due to take place across Belgian airports at the beginning of October 2024, with Brussels Airport, Charleroi Airport and Liège likely to be hit by a range of employees protesting an ongoing lack of investment in working conditions and wages.
Strike and protest march
The strike, announced by unions representing security staff, is set for a 24-hour period on Tuesday 1 October, timed to coincide with, and allow staff to participate in, a planned protest demonstration in Brussels European quarter.
The security workers will be joined by trade union members of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism (Effat) and Uni Europa, meaning that food and service employees such as cleaners and hospitality staff will also be withdrawing their labour.
The strikes come as a result of staff and union complaints about contractual conditions and an over-emphasis on investing 2023’s “significant” profits on improving the passenger experience in the sector.
Passengers over employees?
Brussels Airport welcomed over 22.2 million passengers in 2023 and transported 701,000 tonnes of goods. The hub is associated with 64,000 direct and indirect jobs. Changes seen in 2023 include the inauguration of new passenger bridges at Pier B in February, the opening of five new food and drink outlets, the refurbishment of the “Diamond Lounges” and work on another new passenger lounge facility.
However, this focus on passengers has, unions say, left staff neglected and underpaid. “We want a tendering marketplace that works to guarantee high quality employment across Europe,” union rep Koenraad Maertens has declared, adding that too often contracting practices “allude to qualitative factors but these are not always adhered to. At the end of the day, the lowest cost provider wins.”
Unions claim employees are having to deal with a working environment populated by outdated facilities and inadequate equipment, and over-reliant on subcontracting where working conditions cannot be well regulated. This combination of factors is translating into high staff sickness rates and difficulties in recruitment and retention, unions point out.
Severe disruption anticipated
Aviation24 estimates that the walk out “is likely to cause significant flight disruptions”. The lack of security staff is bound to leave some checkpoints unattended meaning it will take longer to process passengers. Long queues and extended wait times are therefore to be expected.
To make matters worse for passengers, the mass demonstration taking place in Brussels centre is likely to make navigating the capital challenging. Passengers are advised to leave themselves plenty of time to get to the airport ahead of their departure and to keep a close eye on airport and airline updates about their flight status.
