Brussels Airlines pilots reject the current proposal, strike notice maintained

The past ten days, Brussels Airlines pilots have voted for or against the agreement that trade unions representing the pilots and the Brussels Airlines management concluded. A majority of the pilots now said “no” to the agreement.

The proposal was the result of a joint working group that mainly focussed on the improvement of the current duty and rest time rules and other measures further enhancing the work-life balance of the pilots, as well as a compensation plan. Based on that proposal made, Brussels Airlines hoped that an agreement could be reached. 58% of the pilots have now rejected that agreement.

The trade unions have already indicated that they are prepared to continue talking based on the current proposal. A number of measures like work-life balance and a compensation plan can be applied quickly, other measures will be discussed and are scheduled for  2019/2020. Union delegate Anita Van Hoof send this note to the pilots: “Following the result of the referendum, the strike notice is maintained and the pilot delegation received a clear mandate to improve the actual package. A meeting with the management is foreseen on Friday afternoon (29 June), we will keep you up to date.”

Next important date for Brussels Airlines is 9 July, then Eurowings CEO Thorsten Dirks will come to Brussels. Meanwhile, the board of directors have worked on a strategic vision for the future.

Many employees are worried about the plans of integrating Brussels Airlines into Eurowings, major questions like the Brussels Airlines brand and about employment at Brussels will hopefully be answered by 9 July.