Marine pilots in Flanders are taking action against the Federal Government’s pension reforms. One element of the reforms that the marine pilots are particularly unhappy about is that their secondary pensions will not be treated in the same way as the secondary pensions accrued by those working in other sectors.
During the national strike on 31 March action by marine pilots caused considerable disruption to shipping. In May the marine pilots threatened new action. However, this was averted thanks to a provisional accord that was signed in early June.
On Sunday they took action in protest at the pension reforms again. However, the impact on shipping was unclear as at 6pm on Sunday figures from the Flemish Maritime Services and Coastal Agency listed the cause of a total of 43 ships being delayed as they waited to enter Flemish ports as being “bad weather”.
The industrial action is continuing on Monday. The Chair of the Association of Marine Piliots (BvL) Francis Baetens says that negotiations are underway with both the Flemish and Federal governments. The industrial action could severely disrupt traffic on the Scheldt to and from Flemish seaports.