About a third of the trains will run on Thursday during the rail strike, including half of the IC trains and a third of the L and S trains, SNCB announced on Tuesday while revealing its alternative transport plan.
Most P trains will not run, the National Railway Company of Belgium announced.
Given the strike announced by several unions, rail traffic will be disrupted from Wednesday 10:00 PM for 24 hours, the railway company said. SNCB, therefore, has drawn up an alternative transport plan on the basis of the staff members who indicated that they were not taking part in the strike.
This guaranteed service will allow a third of the trains to run. To plan their trip during this strike day, travellers are invited to consult the travel planner on the app or on the SNCB website.
Earlier, the Brussels Times reported that the strike was backed by the main socialist and liberal unions. They have since been joined by the smaller independent union SIC. The CSC/ACV, meanwhile, the large Christian union, had been reserving judgement while awaiting the outcome of yesterday’s meeting. Its intentions remained unclear at the time of publication.
The long-running dispute concerns union demands for a pay increase of 1.1%, the employment of more workers on permanent contracts, the same pay structure for permanent and fixed-contract workers, and retention of the current 36-hour week.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
