Nationwide Strike Paralyzes Belgium’s Ports, Airports, and Services

Belgium port — Both Antwerp and Zeebrugge were reported to have long backlogs of vessels by late on Monday (Zeebrugge)

Upset by Belgium’s new collation government’s plans for budget cutting, public and private workers walked on their jobs on Monday, March 31, for a 24-hour strike that stopped many parts of Belgium for the day. Officials for the Port of Antwerp-Bruges said the disruptions began on Sunday evening and were expected to last until Tuesday with it taking days to fully recover.

The European Transport Workers’ Federation announced it was standing in solidarity with the Belgium Trade Union Confederation which led the call for the 24-hour nationwide strike. The union cited planned cuts to pensions, reforms to the labor market, and cuts to the public service sector. The universal call across all the groups was to maintain pensions and fair working conditions.

“Transport workers are particularly affected, facing drastic budget cuts, job insecurity, and the erosion of collective bargaining rights. At a time when Belgium should be investing in its workforce and public services, this government is taking the country in the wrong direction,” said the ETF in its statement of support.

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges which manages the country’s two busiest ports, Antwerp and Zeebrugge, reported “very strong obstacles for ships.” The delays and backlogs grew as the day progressed with the authority’s final update saying only about 10 ships had been able to enter and leave Antwerp all day on Monday. It said the backlog grew to about 50 ships. Three of Antwerp’s locks were closed.

“The disruption will continue until tomorrow morning (Tuesday). Afterward, we will see how we can quickly and safely clear the backlog. This is expected to take one to two days,” the authority said in its update at 2015 Monday evening.

Zeebrugge reported there had been a complete blockage since 1100 saying it would continue until 0700 on Tuesday. No seagoing vessels entered or departed the port on Monday afternoon. Earlier it had reported that one ship had departed and two arrived, before the end of the day saying a backlog of 25 ships was waiting for the port to resume activity.

The problems were not limited to the seaports. Brussels Airport canceled all 244 outbound flights for Monday and said incoming traffic might also be impacted. Public services were reported to be at a standstill, including the post office and garbage services. Some schools also closed for the day and much of public transport around the country was disrupted.

The government which came to office in February has presented an austerity plan for the country. Today was the second round of major strikes against the planned sweeping cuts to all sectors of the economy.