Although it was a spontaneous action, the ACV union later rallied behind the strikers. The immediate cause was an accident at work, which, according to the staff at Aviapartner, was the result of too much work pressure, about which complaints have been made for months.
The company is currently struggling with a labor shortage, which means that the number of tasks per employee is now higher than before – too high, in the opinion of many staff members. In consultation with the unions, the management acknowledged that the workload was too high and promised improvements, but in practice nothing has changed.
Explosive
That is why the morning shift of Aviapartner went on strike today. Work has subsequently resumed, but the situation remains explosive – the company will have to make quick adjustments to avert new actions.
Aviapartner, a Belgian handling agent that is also active at Schiphol, provides around half of the flights at Brussels Airport. In addition to loading and unloading luggage, the company provides many other services such as aircraft cleaning, pushback & towing and de-icing.
Due to the work stoppage, there was a lot of delay at Zaventem this morning, while some planes only departed with part of the planned baggage.
Today, a total of 115 departing flights are scheduled to be handled by Aviapartner. TUI fly is particularly affected, at least nine flights of the travel organization have been delayed.
