At the end of March 2006, tensions arose at the aeronautics company Sonaca, due to a restructuring initiative that is likely to lead to the loss of 279 jobs. Following the announcement of the plan in 2003, the procedure to inform employees was set in motion in accordance with EU legislation. At the beginning of this year, trade unions and management signed an agreement agreeing to defer redundancies until the middle of the year. However, management broke the agreement on 16 March 2006 by dismissing 46 workers and negotiations were interrupted for several days.

Restructuring plan

Although it had been decided upon in 2003, the implementation of the restructuring plan, Défi 2007 (Challenge 2007), gave rise to social tension during March 2006. The plan aims to ensure stable employment for 1,500 people at a site of the aeronautics company Sonaca in Gosselies in the Charleroi region of Belgium.

In order to achieve this, the Challenge 2007 plan requires the loss of 269 jobs between 2006 and 2008. Following the implementation of Directive 2002/14/EC establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees, management and trade unions came to an agreement on 6 January 2006, which defers the first redundancies to July 2006. This delay was agreed in exchange for union cooperation in beginning negotiations on the social chapter of the restructuring by 30 March 2006.

Breakdown in negotiations

However, on 16 March, the management broke this agreement unilaterally, by putting a plan of drastic measures into immediate effect and dismissing 46 workers. When these measures were announced, there was an outcry from the unions. In a referendum on 20 March 2006, the manual workers failed to award a mandate to represent them to their union representatives, in contrast with the position taken by their professional colleagues.

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This episode indicates the level of confusion that pervades in Sonaca, and may also suggest workers’ feelings of job insecurity. The referendum results automatically blocked any attempts at negotiation on the side of the workers, by making their representation impossible.

Political repercussions

The debate had political repercussions. Although Sonaca has the status of a private company, Belgium’s Wallonia region holds the majority of shares. The attitude adopted by the regional government drew considerable public attention in Wallonia to this social disagreement. Furthermore, the regional government’s action plan, which was dubbed a new ‘Marshall Plan’, aimed at reinvigorating the regional economy, is built around five priority areas. One of these focuses on creating ‘competitiveness poles’ in economic sectors specific to the region, (BE0510304F) including the aeronautics sector and, thus, the Sonaca company.

At the same time, tensions have developed regarding members of the management team. The Minister of the Economy of the Wallonia region, Jean-Pierre Marcourt from the French-speaking Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS), intended to propose Pierre Sonveaux, current President of the company’s Board of Directors, as interlocutor for the unions.

Restart of negotiations

The urgency of the situation was emphasised, as was the importance of restarting a constructive and balanced dialogue in order to manage the crisis. On 5 April, a new assembly of Sonaca workers awarded representative rights to the unions. The negotiations concerning future redundancy measures and the application of the social chapter could then resume.

At the beginning of April, unions and management negotiated a package of measures aimed at achieving savings in the company. Sonaca seeks to reduce operating costs through a direct saving of €9 million on the total wage bill, mainly by freezing the indexation of wages (a maximum increase of 1% per year) and by increasing working hours from 35 to 38 hours per week, without any increase in wages. The unions have not yet approved these measures.

Cécile Arnould, Institut des Sciences du travail, UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve