New Flightcare strike at Brussels Airport

[sn26567]

A wildcat strike has started this Friday morning by Flightcare workers coordinating the loading of aeroplanes. The loaders have also stopped work. It is still unknown how this strike will affect traffic at Brussels Airport.

[fc82091]

in dutch click here

[HighInTheSky]

Brussels Airlines won't do any extensive cleaning in European outstations to minimise the delays today.

[b.lufthansa]

A wildcat strike has started this Friday morning by Flightcare workers coordinating the loading of aeroplanes. The loaders have also stopped work. It is still unknown how this strike will affect traffic at Brussels Airport.

Stopped working because overhours will not be financially compensated but changed into holiday.

Besides workload is also high: redcapping 3 flights the same time is usual

Brussels Airport mentions "no delays" but on the website first 10 flights have a delay of more than 20 minutes (up to 1h30), flights that do leave on time must be Aviapartner handling!

Flightcare management decided to leave the negociations, what will happen for the rest of the day ?

[airazurxtror]

... and on next monday (6th october) is scheduled a national strike for the members of the socialist labor unions at least !

[EBAW_flyer]

... and on next monday (6th october) is scheduled a national strike for the members of the socialist labor unions at least !

Not for every sector. Normally airport OPS will not be affected (except for the public transport).

[airazurxtror]

The strike goes on :

http://www.rtlinfo.be/news/article/1771 ... gr%C3%A8ve

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Belgie/art ... ngen.dhtml

[euroflyer]

A wildcat strike has started this Friday morning by Flightcare workers coordinating the loading of aeroplanes. The loaders have also stopped work. It is still unknown how this strike will affect traffic at Brussels Airport.

This is simply UNBELIEVABLE !! I am really not against trade unions and certainly not against decent work conditions, but here I have no words anymore

What do those people think who they are Go on a wildcat strike every second month or so just because they feel something is unfair or not ok. And do not complain again this would be the only way to make management listen, this is f***ing bulls**t

If everybody would do this nobody would be working anymore soon Grow up ! Learn to work for your interest in a proper, decent and civilised way as we should do in 21st century Europe. This is not Manchester 1870 anymore

[flightlover]

What do those people think who they are Go on a wildcat strike every second month or so just because they feel something is unfair or not ok. And do not complain again this would be the only way to make management listen, this is f***ing bulls**t

Euroflyer, sorry to bring you out of your dream world. But sadly yes it is the only way. When the management of a company like flightcare just walks away of the negotiations during a strike then they are saying: we don't mind what happens to pax or airlines as long as we make a profit. If they start from this logic then just think of how they think of their own employees. They seem to find them more a nessasary evil than an extra asset to reach a good service level.

If everybody would do this nobody would be working anymore soon Grow up ! Learn to work for your interest in a proper, decent and civilised way as we should do in 21st century Europe. This is not Manchester 1870 anymore

... work for your interest in a proper, decent and civilised way...

If only management would do so...
But they just look at their own profit, the employees do not have that choice. So the employees need to work harder and harder and more and more flexible without recieving any reward for their hard work. They should at least let the choice to the employees how they want to recieve the extra hours: in extra relief days or in cash or both combined.

[Shanti]

For Mr Euroflyer

It's the ONLY way the management will listen.
They think they are GOD! but in reality they are the DEVIL!

[fc82091]

its over

[airazurxtror]

The strike is over. The morning shift is at work, after having had what they wanted, it seems :

http://www.rtlinfo.be/rtl/news/article/ ... satisfaits

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Belgie/art ... kers.dhtml

http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail. ... &ref=front

[website-info]

Besides workload is also high: redcapping 3 flights the same time is usual

oh my not 3 flights at once, my you must be so overloaded and stressed ! . Guys get a life, go work in a real company or get out of aviation. 3 flighst at once is norm, more so in some cases. AND YES BEFORE YOU SHOUT I DO KNOW WHAT THE HELL I'M TALKING ABOUT - JUST ASK ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME

T

[regi]

But to the employees of Flightcare, I would say there is legislation .
First of all: holidays and compensation of over time have to be taken before the change of the year. Your employer can not forbid you to take up your holidays before 1st January 2009.
I know that many employees use this kind of excuse to get their overtime being paid out at a 150% rate.
So again, this is Belgian legislation and it is not discussable by managment or unions.
As far as I know the only exceptions are state organisations , army, civil servants, the Mail and railways etcetera.
But Flight Care is a company as any other company. So you have the right to take up all your holidays without agreement of the managment. The moment has to be agreed. But the longer they wait, the smaller becomes the time span. So at a certain moment in November, you can simply say: see you again on Monday 5th of January. I am off for a long long holiday.
I know this myself because my Brussels employer didn't want to give my legal overtime and holidays. But the union stepped in and we agreed I would wait untill the end of the year. I was gone for 5 weeks. No discussion.
Second thing is the compensation of overtime. Your contract probably states "by mutual agreement".
But it does not state that this is a company policy or a union's decision. Many union members want to enforce the payout of overtime. But there are certainly many people who would like to be home for some days or weeks instead of accepting the money.
In larger companies this causes problems at the personnel department. if everybody asks for another treatment - what is their contractual right btw - the company has to pay extra personel to take care of all the individual files.
So they rather have a common solution. In this case : compensation days and no pay out.
But that is against the contract of "mutual agreement"
The fun part would be that the managment pulls it that long that they say to A, B and C: look, we won't pay you out. Tomorrow starts the period that you can take up all your holidays. You have no choice.

reactions please with some facts and figures, no shouting please.

[euroflyer]

Euroflyer, sorry to bring you out of your dream world. But sadly yes it is the only way.
...
If only management would do so...
...
But they just look at their own profit

Yes, of course, always the other side are the bad guys. This is exactly where the problems do start.

I am for sure not living in a dreamworld (so it might be nice actually ), sorry, I am into Industrial Relations professionally for more than 12 years now, I have seen all kind of negotiations on company level, national level and EU level in different countries. You do not have to go on strike to make your management listening. Actually going on strike just is a sign for weakness of the union representatives. Calling a strike, even better a wildcat strike, shows a lot of activities of the unions towards the employees (their members) without having really much to do. It is the easy option. Shout at the management, they are the bad guys, they do not listen, they just want big profits, and so on ... Easily organised and done, but brings the problem not one step close to the solution and harms the company (and thereby the employees ) in the long run. Strong employee representatives are able to negotiate a decent result with management behind closed doors without having to call for a strike, and they are able to explain that compromise afterwards to their members. They are powerful because the have the knowledge and the arguments and will therefore be accepted by the management as relevant partners to run the company succesful. This is not a dreamworld, this is reality in many companies and sectors across Europe (but of course unfortunately not in all ).

Everything else is just behaviour of the time of the first industrial revolution, not Europe 21st century .

And of course, before I will be flamed for being one-sided. this needs to be followed by both sides on the negotiation table. But the failure to do so on one side should not be an excuse for the other side to behave in the same short-minded and stupid way

[regi]

I have been thinking about this subject the last days because of the hard line of the managment .
It could be related to their bonusses !
If employees go on strike, you don't have to pay salary and you make a benefit on labour cost.
Huh?
Yes, that is book keepers talk.
Some managers get a bonus at the end of the year if they meet their target. So imagine if your target is to bring down personel cost. That means that you cannot pay out over time - created by your colleague manager because of lack of personnel. So you bluntly say "no" to overtime pay out.
If this results in lack of personel, it is another manager his problem. He will not meet his target on efficiency. Bleak New Year for him.
The solution to solve quickly lack of personel (because they pick up their over time hours) is...interim labour. But if I am not wrong, this is booked by companies under "services" and not under personel costs. Aha!
So, the personel manager gets away with it, his colleague gets the blame.
I don't make this up, I know this from a very large company with a Belgian division. The biggest enemies of the managers are their collegues, not the unions or labourers.
The stress level must be pretty high among those managers.
Imagine the lame duck manager who has to tell his wife that he doesn't get the bonus and not the upgrade from a Opel to a Saab.
I have witnessed a very similar situation 2 years ago at a pretty large Belgian company. Instead of investing in new machines they decided much too late to subcontract the work. The cost was very high, and the purchasing manager was blamed. He didn't get his bonus and was given the choice to leave the company or to be "promoted" to be a manager of a foreign daughter company.
His colleague manager got promotion and is now director - despite they lost a lot of profit by subcontracting the work they could have done themselves. He drives now a big Audi.
The ex purchasing manager had to buy his own car abroad .

[zteven]

Yes, of course, always the other side are the bad guys. This is exactly where the problems do start.

I am for sure not living in a dreamworld (so it might be nice actually ), sorry, I am into Industrial Relations professionally for more than 12 years now, I have seen all kind of negotiations on company level, national level and EU level in different countries. You do not have to go on strike to make your management listening. Actually going on strike just is a sign for weakness of the union representatives.

[euroflyer]

Yes, of course, always the other side are the bad guys. This is exactly where the problems do start.

I am for sure not living in a dreamworld (so it might be nice actually ), sorry, I am into Industrial Relations professionally for more than 12 years now, I have seen all kind of negotiations on company level, national level and EU level in different countries. You do not have to go on strike to make your management listening. Actually going on strike just is a sign for weakness of the union representatives.

You may laugh, but that to me - sadly enough - only confirms my point

I am not believing too much in statistics (and certainly only the ones I have done myself ), but just have a look across the EU, the countries which tend to have the most strikes and labour unrests are those with the weakest trade union organisations. The countries which have powerful, well run unions do not need so many strikes, sorry, but sometimes the reality is not nice, but it stays the reality

[regi]

I think that you are right.
A good example is India with poor unions.
Some weeks ago an article appeared about a company director was lynched to death by a mob of fired personel.
sorry, just in Dutch:
http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/990/Buiten ... ndia.dhtml

[zteven]

I think for once we agree on something here.

The countries which have powerful, well run
unions do not need so many strikes because
the employers wont dare what they are doing
over here.

Here they can get away with anything, and if
there is a strike, hell, everybody will just blame
the workers. Why not?

Unfortunately we don't have that kind of super-
union so expect a lot more strikes to come...

Greetz



Steven