25-31/10/2018 Aviapartner strike at Brussels Airport

[Established02]

How do you call rushing from one job to the other?

Unfortunately I would call this common practice in so many job positions and in basically all industries.

What would you suggest other than "rushing" from one job to the other?

There are many job positions in all possible industries where people have to work (hard) non stop from the first minute until the last minute. I don't think that is the case for most Aviapartner employees.

If you work in shifts then you know there are very busy moments and periods at an airport, but there are also moments and periods with little or no work.

[Conti764]

Is it legal for tBAC to start their own handling division?

I mean, the company is already making a healthy profit since many years and will soon dissolve one of its divisions (security) which will be transferred to the police. So there should be room to have their own handling company, no?

[Established02]

How do you call semi involuntary overtime because there is no one to finish the job even when your shift has ended???

I understand you get a financial compensation for overtime.

I am not aware what the consequences are for employees, if they refuse to do overtime. I understand some employees feel free to just go home.

Again, in so many other industries employees are confronted with the same overtime problem. In the transport industry, drivers may have a contract to drive 8 hours per day, but in reality they drive up to 11, 12 or 13 hours per day on a daily basis. They may not be happy with this, but they understand it's kind of unavoidable. Yet they still have the freedom to quit these jobs and look for something else.

[convair]

Aren't the airlines that AP works (!?) for allowed to terminate their contracts for non-performance and hire another handler? I realize the only other one is Swissport, but these airlines cannot accept the current situation for ever.

The unions must have a hidden agenda: whatever mistakes have been made by the (incompetent? sloppy?) management, the current strike certainly doesn't help solve AP's problems and the unions know it. By covering a wildcat strike they are driving AP staight into bankruptcy. What is their plan B?

[flightlover]

How do you call semi involuntary overtime because there is no one to finish the job even when your shift has ended???

I understand you get a financial compensation for overtime.

I am not aware what the consequences are for employees, if they refuse to do overtime. I understand some employees feel free to just go home.

I'ld love to see the faces of those pax when they hear they will have to stay seated and patient because ground staff went home even though the plane is (almost) ready to go.

[Established02]

Flightlover, I understand you feel morally obliged to stay longer in such a situation. Apparently there is often no staff planned or available to take over the remaining work when your shift is done.

[Airpocket]

Legacies from the past are the problem from all people working there. But even when I repeat that 10 times, you won't accept it.

Sure, people are going through a difficult time there, with heavy workload and unpleasant working conditions. But that applies for all people working there. Not the least for the CFO who has to find the money to pay the October salaries.

You make one mistake here the ground staf is not responsible for the strategy and the contracts.
They are not involved and they are payed much less the the management...
They are responsible for the flights to depart safely.
And it looks they did there best to be flexible but there is limit and that's where we are.
The management did not succeed to make it work and the ground staff is exhausted.
Point now it looks it has to die and start again....

Hopefully with more loyal, different employees than the people who make their own company go bankrupt
Dont bite the hand that feeds you comes to mind

That’s funny: “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” But that same hand sometimes forgets to feed you and that hand is not always nice to you, even when it promised on paper that it would.

[lumumba]

Legacies from the past are the problem from all people working there. But even when I repeat that 10 times, you won't accept it.

Sure, people are going through a difficult time there, with heavy workload and unpleasant working conditions. But that applies for all people working there. Not the least for the CFO who has to find the money to pay the October salaries.

You make one mistake here the ground staf is not responsible for the strategy and the contracts.
They are not involved and they are payed much less the the management...
They are responsible for the flights to depart safely.
And it looks they did there best to be flexible but there is limit and that's where we are.
The management did not succeed to make it work and the ground staff is exhausted.
Point now it looks it has to die and start again....

Hopefully with more loyal, different employees than the people who make their own company go bankrupt
Dont bite the hand that feeds you comes to mind

Sometimes I like your inputs because you point out some problems.
But in any case Sean it's alwas to argue in controversy that's your main reason to be on this forum!

[sean1982]

Strange that some people here seem to think they know me better than I do. You are very much mistaken. I Just have absolutely no sympathy for people that go on strike for a bonus they were promised to pay and for new equipment when their company does not have the financial means to cover that. No, they rather strike their company into bankruptcy resulting in other employees from that company who do not support the strike lose their job as well. It’s criminal. It’s morally despicable.

(Not to mention their unemployment money will have to be paid from mine, all of our tax money)

[lumumba]

Strange that some people here seem to think they know me better than I do. You are very much mistaken. I Just have absolutely no sympathy for people that go on strike for a bonus they were promised to pay and for new equipment when their company does not have the financial means to cover that. No, they rather strike their company into bankruptcy resulting in other employees from that company who do not support the strike lose their job as well. It’s criminal. It’s morally despicable.

(Not to mention their unemployment money will have to be paid from mine, all of our tax money)

But that's not what happened I will not go over all discussions but the most likely the management did big mistakes and the ground workers where exhausted.
And no problem they will find a job very fast because we are missing those profile.
I also think most of them like there job!

Nobody wants to bring there colleges or a well managed company to bankruptcy.
Did you defended a strike already or never?
Because that means you are partial and that the leading management never make mistakes and that's not possible I think we have a very good example here

[sean1982]

I did defend the strike at Ryanair strongly firstly, secondly I said I support the right to strike but only if the rules are followed, which would have allowed the customers of aviapartner to at least come up with a plan B. Thirdly, you can drop the personal insults

[lumumba]

I did defend the strike at Ryanair strongly firstly, secondly I said I support the right to strike but only if the rules are followed, which would have allowed the customers of aviapartner to at least come up with a plan B. Thirdly, you can drop the personal insults

But we discussed this before the management could also be prosecuted they played a dirty game with the ground workers.
What brought us to what's happening now!

[convair]

A 24 hours warning strike on the 25th should have been enough, together with the "promise" that a longer one at a critical period (Xmas or New Year holidays) was to be expected if things were not changed by, say, end of November.

The current stike is suicidal, imho:
Looking at the AP figures given earlier on this thread by "passenger", it appears that their short term debt is almost equivalent to half their 2017 sales. Unless that debt is owed to a sister/mother company that can and is willing to provide help or they find a patient bank with which they can restructure that debt, the situation seems hopeless.

[Conti764]

(Not to mention their unemployment money will have to be paid from mine, all of our tax money)

This will be very limited since most of the staff will be taken over by the new company in case of AP's bankruptcy…

[Clap]

Can anybody tell me if this strike still´s on? and qhat´s gonna happens with the other Aviapartner bases abroad Brussels?

[Passenger]

A 24 hours warning strike on the 25th should have been enough, together with the "promise" that a longer one at a critical period (Xmas or New Year holidays) was to be expected if things were not changed by, say, end of November.

The current stike is suicidal, imho:
Looking at the AP figures given earlier on this thread by "passenger", it appears that their short term debt is almost equivalent to half their 2017 sales. Unless that debt is owed to a sister/mother company that can and is willing to provide help or they find a patient bank with which they can restructure that debt, the situation seems hopeless.

I'm not an accountant, but I thins these are some other relevant figures from the annual account, published on NBB.be. It gives a brief summary of their debts, without details about names etc. Hence it's no secret or a violation of privacy that I give these details:

Debts on max. 1 year:
2.950.004: banks
13.966.989: suppliers
8.086.211: salaries and related taxes
133.544: taxes

Debts, longer then one year:
22.650.620: "other loans"

Counter-account:
11.555.825 Handelsvorderingen (allow me to translate that into "we're awaiting payment for...")

- - -

Airlines may have empathy towards their business partner and supplier, but they wont have mercy when it's about money. The strike by Aviapartner has caused severe damage to airlines, and they will all try to recover their damage from Aviapartner. Only a very small part can be waived in court: the costs that were caused before the strike was officially recognized by the trade unions. A wildcat strike indeed is seen as "unevitable". But once the strike was official, Aviapartner is responsible.

After all, that's the principle why trade unions go on strike: "to cause so much damage that it's cheaper for the employer to give in, rather then bearing the costs of the strike".

[Passenger]

(Not to mention their unemployment money will have to be paid from mine, all of our tax money)

This will be very limited since most of the staff will be taken over by the new company in case of AP's bankruptcy…

I guess that Swissport will only accept about half of the Aviapartner staff. Example: most office jobs will disappear (no need for two accounts departments, two Staff services, two medical services, ...). Same applies for many tarmac jobs.

And maybe Swissport will amend some of their part time contracts into f/t (example: check-in staff).

And let's not forget that the government has ruled that two ground handlers are allowed at Brussels Airport. So when Aviapartner disappears, another one may step in within a few months. So at the best, the ex Aviapartners staff will get a temporary contract.

[Established02]

If a new ground handler would step in and have a need to take over ex-Aviapartner staff, they may not necessarily feel obliged to take over those Aviapartner individuals that played a key role in this strike.

[KriVa]

Can anybody tell me if this strike still´s on? and qhat´s gonna happens with the other Aviapartner bases abroad Brussels?

Hi Clap, welcome at Aviation24.be!

As far as I know, the strike is still on today, 30/10. Last I heard is that some people at OST and LGG were on strike as well, to support their colleagues in BRU. No clue whether those actions are still ongoing or not.

[Cd6785]

Anyone know if the strike will end by 0600 October 31 or will continue until who knows when?