On 16 & 17 October, BeCA organised its “BeCA Industrial & Safety Days”, gathering BeCA members with a union delegate mandate from all airlines based in Belgium. With around 15 participants from 5 airlines, the meeting was a unique opportunity to exchange about the development of a long-term unified pilot vision and a strategy to better represent pilots at national and airline levels. Participants were also updated about a few hot industrial (per diems, cargo, FTL) and safety (pilot support programme, just culture, cabin air quality) topics. We will present here the outcomes and next steps of this important event.

What is the difference between BeCA and unions? Why should I be both a BeCA and a union member?

First, BeCA is apolitical and represents the entire pilot community without any political agenda. This ensures a full pilot representativeness. Unions, as you know, have their own “color”, which means that every pilot can join one of the three unions depending on their own political affinity.

Secondly, BeCA has developed a pilot vision through an extensive safety and industrial expertise on many issues that directly impact our daily operations. Unions, on the other hand, have a great deal of experience in social and labour issues and in organising groups of workers. However, they don’t only represent pilots, but all Belgian workers, which means that they don’t always have the pilot specific expertise and vision.

Thirdly, BeCA lobbies at national level its main partners – the Belgian CAA, the ministry of transport, the ministry of pension, etc. – whilst unions are essentially involved with the official structures of the social dialogue at airline level.

Last but not least, unions work at national level, whilst BeCA is a very active member of European and global organisations, which means that we receive first-hand information about what’s coming from the EU. This is particularly important given the current context of Trans-National Airlines (Eurowings, TUI, Ryanair, EAT-DHL, FedEx).

BeCA and unions are therefore both complementary and necessary. And we all rely on our members’ (financial and human) support to operate and perpetuate our work.

Why this meeting and why now?

We realised that the lack of communication between the pilot groups may lead to representatives “reinventing the wheel”. What happens today in one airline is likely to happen in the near future in another airline, which makes it paramount to share our experiences. One of the best examples of this was the takeover of TNT by FedEx: BeCA’s previous experience with EAT/DHL allowed us to be well prepared and the successful coordination with TNT/ASLB union delegates ensured that every pilot could keep their jobs and working conditions, which were secured in a CLA on Job security, developed by BeCA lawyer.

With this in mind, the meeting aimed to discuss how we can best coordinate and share our strengths, in order to represent in the best way possible our members, i.e. you. And now is the right time to do so. In 2018, BeCA already reinforced its structure by adopting a new Constitution that enlarges the role of Vice-Presidents and paves the way for the creation of “BeCA Company Councils” within each airline. The social elections in May 2020 will be another important milestone to make a difference and have BeCA and unions work hand in hand.

How do we plan to do that?

The meeting was the kick-off of this long-term project, under the wings of the Industrial Working Group (IND WG). All participants recognised the high value of these gatherings and agreed that we should plan at least two 2-day meetings a year, as well as ad hoc meetings on specific issues when deemed necessary. In the meantime, members of this group will share via a mailing list and BeCA VPs will keep in close contacts with union representatives in their airlines in order to ensure a two-way communication between BeCA Executive Committee, Air Safety Committee & Industrial WG and each BeCA Company Council.

Conclusion

Whilst BeCA is often described as more (too?) “cartesian”, unions rely more on “emotions”. But, as we all know, success depends on combining the knowledge with the capacity to act when necessary. Unions have the legal legitimacy to act, but they must be well informed, i.e. by BeCA expertise and knowledge, if we want to ensure the best possible representation. But this requires a long-term common pilot vision and a smooth coordination between BeCA and unions. Let’s launch, altogether, this ambitious project!