Trade Unions in Belgium prepare for strike on Tuesday

Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

A strike is expected to take place across Belgium tomorrow, an action which will likely halt all flight operations from Charleroi airport – second busiest in the country.

On 12th of May, three of the country’s trade unions socialist ABVV (socialist), ACV (Christian), and ACLVB (liberal) will organize protests against economic reforms introduced by current Belgian government. These reforms will change working conditions and pension schemes.

The strike would likely ground flights at Charleroi airport, which is one of the busiest in Belgium, as the number of staff will likely be much lower than it usually is. This would limit the capacity to deal with the ordinary operations. At the same time the Brussels Airport in Zaventem prepares for similar conditions. Over 50% of flights from Brussels Airport might be canceled in order to make sure that the rest of flights will proceed without excessive waiting times and other related accidents. It is expected that passengers will be contacted for cancellation or getting a refund.

However, it is not only the airports whose work will be affected by the strike. The public transport such as buses, trams etc., will also be affected as the workers participate in demonstrations. Though, at least a part of services would still be available on the day of protests.

The protests are expected to begin on Tuesday morning and finish at 2 pm in Brussels. Participants state that they demand better working conditions as well as better pension schemes. Other important demands include a tax system that is more fair and keeping automatic pay rises on par with inflation.