The unions representing workers at Proximus have announced a call to strike on Tuesday coming, in protest at the company's plan for mass redundancies. The call was initially put out by the CSC/ACV Christian union, and later joined by others.
The company's restructuring plan, which prime minister Charles Michel has openly condemned, would lay off 1,900 workers, and CEO Dominique Leroy has refused to rule out forced redundancies.
As we report elsewhere, Proximus has already begun sending workers over 58 on early retirement.
The strike will take place the day after unions meet with Michel, who was described as “angry” at a meeting last week with Leroy. The unions share his anger, with ACV representative Ben Coremans explaining that the strike is intended to show “how disappointed, frustrated and angry we are. We want to give a strong signal and be treated with respect”. He warned that tougher actions could follow later.
The one-day strike will especially hit new installations of customer services such as internet, as well as call centres and Proximus shops.
The action is, however, unlikely to affect traffic in the city centre, as it is intended to be concentrated by the company headquarters near the North station.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
