Trouble ahead

Some people know how to pick their moment. The pilots of Brussels Airlines are threathening with a strike, because they are not happy with the new management (Brussels Airlines has fully become part of the Lufthansa group). They want higher wages, a better pension (who wouldn't?) and more family time. Yeah, as if they don't earn enough. And when you become a pilot you know you'll be away from your home a lot. If you can't bear this, better pick another job.

There is a long weekend now and at the end of next week there's another. And this is the moment they plan their strike.

We have to consider our trip to Prague will need to be cancelled. I'll wait as long as I can, but I need to cancel the hotel reservation at last one day before we arrrive so I don't have to pay a fine. As the French would say: 'Merde'!!!

There are a lot of strikes going on nowadays. I.m.o. unions are overplaying their importance. I can understand why unions were founded, because in the late 19th century the work circumstances of the laborers were miserable indeed. But in our time, a laborer is often better off than someone with a degree, at least in Belgium. When I was young, laborers could only take a holiday at the Belgian coast and they didn't own cars. Now they have everything. So why need a union anymore? Enough laws protect those who work. And pilots are among those who really shouldn't complain. They earn a lot more than we did as teachers, and they don't have to work so long as most people.