Trade unions are today taking action against the new federal government's plans, especially the reform of the pension system and the labour market. Police figures say 60,000 demonstrators took part in the demo in Brussels. This is twice the number that participated in the last protest in January. Public transport including Flemish local transport De Lijn and its Brussels counterpart MIVB are severely disrupted. More paralysis reigns at the country’s airports after air traffic controllers joined the protests. In the capital, where the demonstration is taking place, the police expect a lot of disruption and severe congestion. Employers' organisations are voicing their criticism of the day of action.
On average, half of all De Lijn buses and trams are running
As a result of the unions protests against the government on average only 51 per cent of all buses and trams operated by Flemish local transport company De Lijn are running in Flanders today.
Here are the figures showing the percentage of services running per province: 44 per cent in Antwerp, 47 per cent in East Flanders, 55 per cent in Flemish Brabant, 61 per cent in Limburg and 52 per cent in West Flanders. In the city of Antwerp, 40 per cent of services are running, in Ghent it’s 32 per cent. For the coastal tram, from De Panne to Knokke the figure is 50 per cent.
De Lijn’s website and app only show the journeys being carried out, says the company. These same pages will also always show the latest situation.
National rail company NMBS should not be affected by the protest apart from the large number of protesters making the trip to and from Brussels.
Empty departure hall at Brussels Airport
The departure hall at Brussels Airport is as good as empty this morning. Some workers are present and most passengers have been able to rebook their flights. Not a single plane is leaving Brussels Airport today.
On a normal Thursday, some 60,000 passengers would depart from or arrive at Brussels Airport. 430 flights have been cancelled. ‘We don't experience this very often,’ says Jeffrey Franssens, spokesman for Brussels Airport. ‘We regret the impact the action is having on our passengers.’
Brussels Airport expects tomorrow to be a busy day as many people have had their flights rebooked. ‘We expect around 74,000 passengers, which is about 10,000 more than originally planned,’ Mr Franssens says. ‘We definitely advise passengers to get to the airport on time.’
Little disruption to traffic on the roads
On the motorways to Brussels and on the Brussels ring road, there were fewer traffic jams than on a routine Thursday. Only on the E40 from Ghent were there some delays, but that was due to an accident in Ternat. ‘Many people may have chosen to work from home today or have rescheduled appointments and deliveries,’ says VRT’s traffic expert Hajo Beeckman.
In Brussels many road tunnels are closed due to the demo.
Disruption to postal services limited in Flanders, but major impact in Wallonia
In Flanders only 5 per cent of postal workers are on strike, in Wallonia it’s half the workforce. In Brussels the figure is 10 per cent, says postal service Bpost. Across the country, Bpost normally has some 16,000 postal workers doing their rounds. Today the figure is 10,000.
In addition, Bpost’s sorting centres in Liège (Awans), Charleroi (Fleurus) and Brussels are also affected by the protest. In the south of the country, postal workers have been protesting for several days now. They are unhappy with the planned reorganisation of local postal rounds. Management plans to meet national union representatives again for talks tomorrow, Bpost spokesman Mathieu Goedefroy said.
Flemish post offices appear unaffected.