17 March strike on Belgian rail network

Belgian railway operator SNCB, infrastructure manager Infrabel and human resources service provider HR Rail are preparing for another major strike on Monday 17 March by planning alternative service options.

Fewer trains will run between 23.00 on Sunday 16 March and the same time on 17 March but an alternative train service will be provided based on staff members who have indicated they will not be participating in the strike, SNCB management said.

The alternative timetable will be available on the SNCB online journey planner from the morning of Sunday 16 March, via the website or the app. SNCB advises passengers to prepare their journey carefully and to check the planner regularly.

For international rail traffic, passengers are advised to consult the SNCB International website.

SNCB will also continue to provide assistance to people with reduced mobility for the duration of the strike, based on the alternative train service.

This strike comes from the two main rail unions, CGSP Cheminots and CSC Transcom, which are protesting the new federal government’s plans to raise the retirement age and impose budget cuts that workers fear will worsen an already high workload.

The unions announced at the end of February that they would be staging 18 days of strikes over the next five months.

Unions want two guarantees: the future of HR Rail as a legal employer and the maintenance of recruitment on a statutory basis.

The incoming government announced its intent to get rid of HR Rail, passing its responsibilities to the personnel departments of Infrabel and SNCB. The unions fear many jobs will be lost in such a reorganisation.

The two unions, the office of the mobility minister and the three railway companies established a timetable for negotiations for the coming months, according to the president of the CGSP Cheminots/ACOD Spoor Pierre Lejeune, but no progress has been made.

A meeting between the various parties on Monday was "constructive" but did not yield "any element" that would allow unions to abandon the strike, Lejeune said.

An additional meeting on Wednesday ended abruptly after just 12 minutes, with union leaders citing "no room for negotiation" and recommitting to their strike plans.

“The government needs to make a gesture and we need to be able to discuss these measures again, so that they are not applied brutally and in a way that suggests that there might be negotiations when this is absolutely not the case,” Lejeune said.

“There is no reason for us to lift the action plan and so it will be applied as planned for the coming months - four days of action per month until July. If the government were to make a gesture, we would obviously be prepared to reconsider the situation.”

A previous strike action from smaller unions caused major disruption despite limited participation.

Infrabel, HR Rail and SNCB said it was unfortunate that "the two trade union organisations are maintaining their intention to strike against government measures, despite the consultation meetings planned since this week with the federal ministers concerned".

They added: "Priority must be given to social dialogue before any strike action and regret that passengers will once again have to suffer the consequences."