Residents in Belgium can expect severe disruptions to rail and air travel on Monday as a nationwide day of action sees strikes over new pension reforms.
Teachers, bus, airport and rail staff have registered to strike with transport workers urged to take part by their unions. Belgians trying to get to work on Monday morning may need to make alternative arrangements as severe delays and cancellations are expected.
And British tourists travelling to Belgium or already in the country may also be impacted by the industrial action.
Railway operator SNCB has confirmed that it will only be running about one in three trains while those planning to travel internationally are urged to check their flights.
“A large number of flights will have to be cancelled or rescheduled,” a spokesperson for Brussels airport, Ihsane Chioua Lekhli, told Belga News Agency on Friday.
Brussels Airlines has cancelled half of its European flights for Monday as efforts are being made to protect long-haul flights as much as possible. The airline has also asked passengers whose flights continue to carry a minimum amount of luggage.
The airline says it has cancelled flights where there are sufficient opportunities to rebook passengers, or selected flights with the lowest number of passengers to minimise the impact.
Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA) is also expecting its operations to be “severely disrupted” on Monday and is warning of delays in both departures and arrivals.
Schools across the country are expected to be affected as 20,000 teachers have said they will strike. This means children may need to stay at home, resulting in their parents having to stay at home too.
The action follows the hike in retirement age from 65 to 66, which rose on January 1. This will increase to 67 by 2030. Public sector workers are angered by the change, as well as a number of other proposals by the government.
“The measures on the table represent unprecedented attacks on all working men and women,” trade union CSC said. “Wage freezes, indexation reform, longer working hours and more precarious contracts, austerity, cuts to public services and ecological investments: nothing will be spared for Belgians, not even pensioners.”
The nationwide action is also expected to cause disruption to rubbish collections in Brussels, as well as prisons due to officers going on strike.
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