Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Joint Dockworkers Union Front published a pamphlet showing that dockworkers will conduct one-hour work stops at different terminals on Monday. All three organisations of ABVV-BTB, ACV-Transcom, and ACLVB are opposed to conducting a complete 24-hour work stoppage at this time.
Belgium‘s port workers in Antwerp, Zeebrugge, and Ghent will stop their activities for a single hour on Monday after receiving instructions from the Joint Dockworkers Union Front. Dockworkers with logistics staff and expert port personnel will participate in action as outlined in a pamphlet that received analysis by Flows magazine and Belga.
The dock unions have chosen limited action against broader national strike activities because ABVV-BTB and other unions have chosen to participate in the national strike. Representatives of the many unions will clarify their reason for refraining from joining the nationwide labor strike in the one-hour informational break by emphasising their disagreement with the timing and method of negotiations.
The Joint Dockworkers Union Front demands three essential conditions that include the protection of port-specific unemployment rules alongside existing pension plans and acknowledgment of dock work-specific periods during pension assessment. The unions anticipate diminished bargaining power from conducting full-scale, immediate strikes, which leads them to choose strategic actions that will result in better outcomes.
The unions base their decision on their doubts about how the government will execute labor agreements. Monday’s industrial actions will predominantly stem from the pilots’ strike, but river pilots will not strike. Multiple ports are drafting backup plans as ships begin sending their routes toward other regional countries.
What is the context behind the Belgian dockworkers’ labor dispute?
Trade in Europe heavily relies on the Belgian ports system, which includes Antwerp as the second-largest European port alongside Zeebrugge and Ghent, which process over 270 million tons of cargo each year. Specially designed unemployment systems, along with pension schemes, serve dockworkers because their physical work nature requires unexpected labor scheduling. Government reforms that propose altering early retirement rules and unemployment benefits dating systems have caused political tensions throughout Belgium.
Many strikes occurred across Belgium in 2023 when workers protested pension benefits and wage compensation. This led to disruption throughout supply chains. Workers fear that new policies might weaken specific safeguards in their employment benefits, such as weather-caused work stoppage, unemployment protection, and pension measurement for seasonal layoffs.
Members of the Joint Dockworkers Union Front, consisting of ABVV-BTB ACV-Transcom and ACLVB emphasize port workers must endure greater physical dangers along with job instability in their sector. Labor unions in Belgium demand more robust protections, given that their national inflation rate currently stands at 3.18 percent (2024).
The maritime industry observes delivery slowdowns because earlier stoppages resulted in ocean freight backlogs, together with ship rerouting to Rotterdam and Le Havre. A one-hour warning strike exists to demonstrate union resolve since workers will increase their action if negotiations prove unsuccessful.
