Belgium’s shipping pilots’ association will resume industrial action if no agreement is reached with the Minister in charge of pensions, Jan Jambon, by 16 May, the association said on Friday.
During Wednesday’s national strike, the pilots significantly disrupted maritime traffic.
According to socialist union ACOD, young sea or river pilots face a 45% drop in pensions compared to their older counterparts due to new measures by the federal government.
There are some 300 pilots who guide large ships safely into harbours in Belgium. Their services are sometimes hindered by a lack of available staff, social unrest and, in particular, the fragmentation of duty rosters across four corps.
“We held a meeting with the federal minister’s office on 30 April,” the pilots’ association stated on Friday. “Despite hopeful signals from the minister at the previous meeting on 27 March, this session did not yield the anticipated results.”
The pilots are particularly concerned about the apparently unequal treatment of their pension’s second pillar compared to other wage earners.
“As practitioners of a hazardous and demanding profession, we find it unacceptable that the annual pension increment is essentially being slashed with a single stroke of the pen,” they said in a statement.
The pilots demand solutions by 16 May 2025. If not, they threaten to “severely disrupt” the shipping along the Scheldt from 17 May onwards.
