Unions at train manufacturer Alstom in Bruges have expressed concerns over the factory’s future if it fails to secure an order from the Belgian National Railway Company (SNCB) for 600 new trains.
Earlier this year, SNCB selected Spanish company CAF as its preferred bidder for hundreds of new train sets, excluding French firm Alstom, which employs around 3,000 people in Belgium and operates an assembly plant in Brugge.
However, Belgium’s Council of State has suspended this decision, citing insufficient transparency by the SNCB in its selection process.
Unions say the SNCB board is expected to make a new decision on the order this Friday. If Alstom is not chosen and CAF is again selected, the Christian and Socialist trade union federations, ACV and ABVV, fear it could be the “death knell” for the Brugges site. It would potentially have an impact on at least 600 workers.
The Brugge plant assembles M7 carriages and conducts locomotive refurbishments. The M7 contract runs until April next year. Securing the new SNCB contract could ensure 10 to 12 more years of work, says ABVV chief representative Pascal van Hove. “Without this contract, I fear the end,” he added.
ACV and ABVV have urged SNCB as well as the Flemish and federal governments to opt for Alstom.
According to ACV chief representative Christoph Flokman, the unions have been informed that SNCB’s board will decide on Friday, but the railway company itself has refrained from commenting.
