The professional association of maritime and inland pilots (Beroepsvereniging van Loodsen – BvL) announced on Thursday that their strike against Belgium's pension reform will continue through the weekend.
By Thursday morning, as on previous mornings this week, nearly 100 vessels were waiting to enter or leave the ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Ghent. The pilots stated they have no choice but to persist with their actions.
A few months ago, a provisional agreement on pensions appeared to have been reached between the pilots and the Federal Government. However, the two parties reportedly interpreted the agreement differently.
"Everything was fine until last week," the BvL stated on Thursday. "Then it became clear that the agreement would not be honoured, and no budget would be allocated for our pensions."
The pilots feel they are being singled out more than others in the maritime sector. They are particularly critical of the unequal treatment of their pension’s second pillar compared to that of employees in other industries.
Additionally, the non-indexation of higher pensions could see their pensions drop from €2,400 to €1,900, they fear.
