Tuesday 8 April is the 20th day so far this year on which rail workers have taken industrial action. This time 5 of the 6 unions that represent those that work on the country’s railways have called on their members to take strike action. The action is in protest at the federal government’s pension reform plans and at cuts on the railways.
As on previous strike days the rail company NMBS has drawn up an alternative timetable. Around half of all intercity (IC) services are running, as are around 60% of suburban (S-train) and L-Train local stopping services. Meanwhile, 80% of peak hour commuter P-Train services are cancelled.
The 24-hour strike got under way at 10pm on Monday. Originally only the socialist trade union ACOD Spoor and the Christian trade union ACV Transcom were going to strike today. However, the liberal trade union VSOA Spoor and the independent OVS and ASTB unions later decided that they too would strike.
The unions are protesting against the federal government’s pension reform plans and 675 million euro in cuts planned by the Belgian rail company.
NMBS. To check whether of not your train is running visit the NMBS website or the rail company’s app.
The strike is also having an impact on international rail services to and from The Netherlands, France and Germany. Several international services have been cancelled. Eurostar services to and from London are not affected by the strike action.
1 million euro/day
The rail infrastructure management company Infrabel has calculated the losses it incurred on strike days in January and February were 1 million euro/day on weekdays and 300,000 euro/day at the weekend.
This loss is due to rail companies such as NMBS paying Infrabel to use the rail infrastructure. Fewer services due to a revised timetable on strike days means less revenue for Infrabel. For its part, NMBS still doesn’t know how much exactly it has lost as a result of the strike. However, the losses are likely to be in the millions.