Three labour unions representing air traffic controllers at Belgian Air Navigation Service Provider skeyes have submitted a strike notice due to the personnel planning mechanism. The notice expires on October 5th. “If no solutions are found by then, actions and strikes can be initiated in both the entire and partial Belgian airspace,” says the ACV Transcom union in a press release.
The mechanism was introduced in 2019 and was supposed to have a one-year trial period. According to the unions, this trial period was extended due to the COVID-19 crisis and expired earlier this year.
“However, skeyes continued to apply the mechanism without even considering the old planning rules, such as publishing work schedules at least one month before the start of the planning. This is a completely illegal practice,” states ACV Transcom.
They have now submitted a strike notice to force skeyes to find a solution. “If no solutions are found by then, actions and strikes can be initiated in both the entire and partial Belgian airspace,” they warn.
