Trade unions announce double 48-hour strike on the railways: “Discontent on the work floor has never been so great” | Domestic

“Railway unions announce a 96-hour strike,” the rail unions said in one of the press releases. For example, out of dissatisfaction with the progress of negotiations on internal reorganizations, they want to stop work from Tuesday, November 7, 10 p.m. to Thursday, November 9, 10 p.m. A second strike should follow approximately a month later, from the evening of Tuesday, December 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, December 7. NMBS travelers must therefore take the necessary inconvenience into account.

The unions state that in recent weeks they have been confronted with unilateral decisions in the context of internal reorganizations at the Belgian railways. According to them, “elementary principles of social dialogue were not respected”, according to ACOD Spoor, ACV Transcom and ACLVB. A final reconciliation meeting last Tuesday failed to reach a settlement. The unions, among other things, do not accept management’s plans to shorten the start-up time of train conductors.

“Twice a 48-hour strike is very unusual, but the dissatisfaction in the workplace has never been so great,” says Günther Blauwens, Flemish chairman of ACOD Spoor in the press release. “The prevailing staff shortages increase the workload. The staff is confronted every day with failing work tools and an unworkable railway structure. There is a greater need than ever for railway stability.”

According to Koen De Mey, Flemish chairman of ACV Transcom, the social dialogue has been flawed for some time. “The train conductors’ start-up time file was the last straw,” he explains. This involves halving the start-up time to 10 minutes. But that category of personnel “had to swallow an enormous amount” and “stands between travelers and management”, it sounds. They receive complaints from travelers. He points to a higher absenteeism among train conductors and the number of train conductors who leave the railways. There are also other issues at stake, for example “fewer staff in the stations”.

The strike notice for 96 hours was submitted yesterday, De Mey said. Another conciliation meeting is planned for Friday, but he fears that management will stick to its position, which would then effectively lead to a strike.