Brussels Airlines’ plan to resume Tel Aviv flights this month has drawn opposition from Belgium’s ACV Puls trade union. The union said staff were being required to work on the flights.
ACV Puls argued that the company was not honoring a previous agreement under which only volunteers would be assigned to Tel Aviv flights. According to the union, employees have serious concerns about the flights’ physical safety as well as their psychological and ethical implications.
Union opposes compulsory assignments
The union said protecting employees from safety and health risks was the employer’s responsibility, adding that compulsory assignments were incompatible with this obligation. ACV Puls also rejected Brussels Airlines’ assessment that the region was safe enough for flights to resume.
The Belgian Foreign Ministry has advised against non-essential travel to the region. ACV Puls said Tel Aviv was not a normal place of operations.
Strike notice took effect on September 1
ACV Puls announced that the strike declared over employees being forced to fly to Israel took effect on September 1. The union said further action would follow if the decision was not reversed.
Jolinde Defieuw, a union representative, said staff had serious concerns not only about their physical safety but also about the mental and ethical consequences of the flights.
Defieuw said Brussels Airlines was not allowing employees to refuse these assignments, adding that the issue was particularly serious because of the ongoing war and the situation in Gaza. She said the lack of volunteers could not justify forcing employees to work and argued that those with serious safety or conscientious objections should be able to refuse the flights without financial, professional or disciplinary penalties.
