Public transport services across Wallonia are gradually resuming, according to Serge Delchambre, interregional secretary of the CGSP Tram-Bus-Metro (TBM), who spoke to Belga on Saturday afternoon.
As of Saturday morning, only the depots in Jemeppe-sur-Meuse and Eupen, located in Liège province, remained non-operational.
“Other services are functioning almost everywhere, including Liège’s tram network. For instance, work resumed at 90% capacity in Charleroi on Saturday morning and is back to full capacity in Mons,” added Delchambre. The network is expected to return to full operation by Monday.
Some delays are due to necessary preparations such as refuelling vehicles and other reactivation tasks.
Public transport across Wallonia has faced severe disruptions since 26 January. A union-led strike was launched to protest austerity measures proposed by the Walloon government targeting the Opérateur de transport de Wallonie (OTW), which oversees Letec.
Workers fear the loss of longstanding benefits granted instead of salary increases, unions claim.
Negotiations between OTW management and union representatives resumed on Thursday in Jambes. Both sides agreed to freeze the proposed changes to public transport operations and set a deadline for the end of the year to reach a resolution. “We called for negotiations without pressure, and we achieved that,” concluded Delchambre.
