Social agreement guarantees jobs for Techspace Aero workers

After two weeks of strike action, workers at the military motor maintenance unit of Techspace Aero (TA) in southeast Belgium finally obtained an agreement on job guarantees for the employees that could be transferred to Pratt & Whitney – one of TA’s main shareholders-according to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both companies and considering a potential acquisition by Pratt & Whitney of 100 % ownership of TA. In this case, trade unions and the employer finally agreed that the workers who would be made redundant for economic reasons between April 2008 and December 2014 would be rehabilitated within TA, taking into account their total number of years’ service.

Background

Pratt & Whitney, the American aircraft engine manufacturer, intends to set up its first European centre for the maintenance of military and civil motors and turbines on the Techspace Aero (TA) site, located in the Liège region of southeast Belgium. For now, a Memorandum of Understanding have been signed by the two companies considering that the military motor maintenance unit of TA could be purchased, involving the transfer of the unit’s 122 employees, most of whom have over 25 years’ experience in the field.

With this new investment, Pratt & Whitney aims to reach a 10% annual growth rate and an increase in the number of working hours from 45,000 to 70,000 hours by 2011. This will enable the maintenance, along with the F100 motor, of another version such as the F100-229 motor and the building of an additional 10,000 square meters industrial site. According to the company’s management, the move will probably lead to the creation of new jobs.

Trade unions seek job guarantees

While the company appears to be optimistic about this new industrial project, the trade unions represented at the site – the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV) and the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV) – remain cautious.

The trade unions feared a reversal of the economic situation and, as a result, demanded some job guarantees regarding the unit’s 122 workers. Subsequently, Pratt & Whitney offered to take over all of the unit’s employment contracts inclusive of all of the benefits already obtained. In addition, it was agreed to offer welcome bonus of €5,000 and a two-year employment guarantee in the event of economic difficulties, leading to a minimum of three years’ employment within TA.

Nevertheless, these guarantees were not deemed sufficient by the trade unions, which were requesting a seven-year employment guarantee. Delegates from FGTB/ABVV and CSC/ACV contended:

The welcome bonus is secondary for us. What we want is a real guarantee for our jobs and if the industrial plan is as good as the management planned, accepting a seven-year guarantee should not be an issue for the company.

However, the management cited a lack of understanding in relation to these demands, arguing that the best guarantee for the workers was the industrial plan itself. Following the management’s initial refusal to accede to these demands, the unit’s 122 workers resorted to strike action.

A controversial agreement

After two weeks of strike action, the trade unions and management finally reached an agreement which was favourable for the workers. Accordingly, the welcome bonus has been increased to €6,250, while the original demand of a seven-year employment guarantee has now been accepted by the management.

Nonetheless, the social agreement has not been viewed favourably by everyone. The Walloon Enterprises Union (Union Wallonne des Entreprises, UWE) reacted to this seemingly overly generous agreement by asking the question: ‘Do the trade unions really wish for industrial development of the southern part of Belgium?’

In the Belgian press, the agreement was widely discussed, leading to newspaper headlines such as ‘a weed strike’ and questions by some journalists as to whether or not the strike was really justified. Some considered that the trade unions had gone too far this time and expressed concerns that such action could threaten the national economy by frightening all new potential enterprises wishing to invest in Belgium.

Emmanuelle Perin, Institute for Labour Studies, Catholic University of Louvain