Public transport on LeTec’s network is set to be disrupted by a two-day strike planned for Thursday 27 and Friday 28 August.
The strike notice, lodged jointly by the unions, was confirmed on Tuesday by Serge Delchambre, inter-regional secretary of the CGSP Tram-Bus-Metro union.
The dispute between the unions and management centres in part around eco-vouchers. The unions wish to retain €100 worth of eco-vouchers per year. However, the management of the public transport company points out that this measure is set out in a collective labour agreement which expired at the end of 2025.
According to Delchambre, management was prepared to reinstate the eco-vouchers in exchange for the abolition of "heat hours". This scheme allows drivers to receive one hour’s compensation when the temperature exceeds 27°C in Uccle. These hours can then be accumulated and converted into days off.
“Coming up with this sort of proposal shows a total lack of respect; it feels as though they’re making a mockery of us,” said Delchambre.
Trade unions and management met on Tuesday, but not to discuss these eco-vouchers, according to Stéphane Thiery, marketing director at LeTec.
“This was by no means a last-chance meeting to save these eco-vouchers. The discussions, which had been planned for several months, centred on the cost-cutting plan imposed on LeTec by the regional government,” he said.
Presented last June by the Walloon Minister for Mobility, François Desquesnes, and the OTW management, the public service contract governing LeTec’s activities between 2024 and 2028 sets out a cost-saving target of around 20 million euros by 2029, representing just over 2% of the overall budget.
Trade unions and management will attempt to reach an agreement on these savings by the end of the year.
“Once we have done that, we may be able to reopen discussions on eco-vouchers. However, these were part of a collective agreement that expired in December 2025, a fact of which the trade unions are well aware,” concluded Thiery.
