A strike by public service personnel in Belgium against the “general malaise” in the sector will lead to a lot of nuisance on Tuesday. People who rely on public transport are particularly affected by the actions. For example, only one metro line ran in Brussels. At the Flemish transport company De Lijn, 35 to 50 percent of the journeys were canceled. In Antwerp 55 percent of the buses, trams and metros ran.
Only a quarter of the trains ran in Belgium on Tuesday. Railway company NMBS set up an alternative timetable so that some traffic was still possible. However, not a single train ran in the provinces of Liège, Luxembourg and Namur. There was insufficient staff available for the signal boxes.
Due to the disruption at the NMBS, there will be no train traffic between Belgium and Germany, between Belgium and Maastricht and between Belgium and Luxembourg on Tuesday. Normal service is provided for Eurostar and TGV INOUI. No difficulties are expected for the IC Netherlands and for Thalys connections between Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. People are advised to consult the travel planner.
Common trade union front
According to the Flemish Traffic Center, it was not busier on the road in the morning due to the strikes. Around 07:30 there was more than 100 kilometers of traffic jams, a normal morning rush hour.
The Belgian public broadcasters VRT and RTBF are also campaigning. Shortened TV news of a maximum of ten minutes will be broadcast, among other things. Mail delivery has also been disrupted by the actions. “The actions of the common trade union front and the strike will have an impact on the service in post offices, contact center, collection, processing and delivery of letters and parcels,” bpost reported via Twitter.
According to Belga news agency, the unions are fighting for more purchasing power, more investment in the public sector and more respect for government pensions.