Brussels Airlines management: “There is no point in new strikes, we are at the limit” | for travel

There has been social unrest at Brussels Airlines for some time over wages and working hours, among pilots, flight attendants and ground staff. Employees have made concessions during the coronavirus crisis, but they want a share of the pie now that the community is in a better financial position again. After five years of losses, there was a profit again in 2023. Operating profits reached a record level of 53 million euros.

Brussels Airlines management confirms that the situation is still fragile. “We have to make sure we remain a viable company and that we don't lose everything again after just one year of profits,” the CEO said. The operating profit margin (3.4 percent) has not yet reached the target level of 8 percent.

The administration indicated that the unions brought a number of justified issues to the negotiating table, which it said it had also addressed. There is now a “very decent offer” on the table, with an average increase of 6 per cent in employees’ purchasing power (on top of an index of 4 per cent this year). “There are even outliers of up to 12 percent for some employees.” The cost of the proposal represents approximately one-sixth of last year's profits, or 9 million euros.

This is not enough for unions at the present time. Yesterday, the reconciliation procedures between the pilots ended without results. “Positions are still very far apart,” CFO Nina Ordek admitted. For example, in some cases, the union side will demand three times what the management offers, he heard on the sidelines of the press conference.

Earlier this year, there were already several strikes. This cost the airline a total of 4 million euros. More strikes cannot be ruled out, but according to management, this does not make sense. “We're at the limit of where we can go.”