The coming week will be one of frustration for rail passengers as 2 smaller rail unions begin a 9-day strike on at 10pm on Friday. The industrial action will have an impact on rail services up to and including Sunday 2 March. On Saturday around 40% of rail services have been cancelled. Each day for the duration of the strike the Belgian rail company NMBS will update its online journey planner to enable passengers to know which services will be running the following day.
The Independent Rail Union (OVS) and the Autonomous Train Drivers’ Union (ASTB) have called their members out on strike. Train drivers, guards and signal box operators will strike on alternate days. This will maximise disruption while limitting loss of earnings for those taking the action.
Although ASTB and OVS are 2 of the smaller rail unions the action will have a big impact on rail services. Without a driver or a guard trains are unable to operate. As is the case on Saturday many services will be cancelled, while some of the services that do run will be delayed.
Revised timetable
The Belgian rail company NMBS plans to publish a revised timetable listing which services will be running the following day, each day for the duration of the strike. However, it is difficult to predict in advance how severe the disruption will be and it will vary greatly from region to region. On Saturday 60% of services will be running.
In addition to the industrial action during the coming week, 2 larger rail unions ACOD Spoor and ACV-Transcom, also plan strike action during the coming months. Furthermore, a general strike against the new federal governments socio-economic and pensions plans will take place on 31 March.
Rail workers are particularly unhappy at plans to raise the age at which they are able to retire from 55 to 67. They also fear for the loss of some of their employment rights if the organisation that is currently legally their employer HR Rail is scrapped and their contracts are transferred to NMBS and Infrabel, the company that manages the country’s rail infrastructure.