UP to 40 cargo vessels were left stranded outside the Belgian port of Antwerp after harbour pilots staged a walkout recently, with the indefinite strike also affecting operations at the smaller ports of Zeebrugge and Ghent
UP to 40 cargo vessels were left stranded outside the Belgian port of Antwerp after harbour pilots staged a walkout recently, with the indefinite strike also affecting operations at the smaller ports of Zeebrugge and Ghent. The pilots launched the industrial action in response to a controversial plan by the federal government that would 'reduce the benefits afforded to pilots in their capacity as public employees', including paid time off and long-term disability pay, according to a report by The Brussels Times.
The strike, which could soon spread to inland waterways as well, began after a meeting with the Flemish government's vice-minister-president Liesbeth Homans during which the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
'What the unions are doing now is unprecedented, and demonstrates anything but a sense of responsibility,' Mr Homans was quoted as saying by The Brussels Times. 'Anyone with any sense of responsibility will come to the table instead of crippling the Flemish economy and holding a huge number of businesses and their employees hostage.'
According to BlueWater Reporting, the port of Antwerp receives 100 regular cargo services operated by several of the largest shipping lines and all three of the major east-west shipping alliances, including 77 direct strings connecting the port with regions outside of Europe and 41 intra-European loops, reported American Shipper.
