As Sabena searches for a more radical solution to restore profitability, one of its major employee unions has warned that job and pay cuts should not be part of the package.
"For almost 20 years Sabena has been in a difficult position, and three times the staff have made their financial contribution for the company," says Freddie Tack of the CGSP union that represents about 40% of the airline's 12,000 employees. In the past there have been two rounds of pay reductions and the loss of 2,000 jobs.
Tack believes Sabena's "Blue Skies" and "Clean Slates" teams - asked to find ways to cut losses and return to profitability - should look mostly to management and strategic changes, including cost reductions at senior levels and collaboration between Sabena and Swissair in areas like maintenance.
The first ideas from the teams were rejected in September by senior Sabena management as not radical enough. They were told to produce more proposals by the end of October. These could include the sale of its cargo handling and catering divisions.
New president Christoph Mueller is demanding "urgent measures" to "get more grip on the enormous growing process of the Sabena Group".
The group made a loss of $58 million in the first six months of the year, and immediately reacted by grounding two Airbus A340s and instigating an investment freeze.
"Unfortunately, the outlook for the entire year remains on an alarming low level because our problem is more structural," says Mueller. Sabena's key challenge is to introduce structural changes while keeping labour harmony too.
Source: Airline Business
