Three Belgian trade unions have called for a country-wide general strike next Wednesday over wage disputes, which could cause major delays and interruptions. The strike is set to go into effect as of 06:00 am on Wednesday, February 13, and last until 06:00 am on Thursday, February 14.
As for the Port of Antwerp, the trade unions of the Antwerp dockers have decided to join this national strike. This action will have an impact on the container terminals and depots (some terminals will be closed for all activities), and there might be difficulties for pick up and re-delivery of empty containers at the depots. Ship pilots may also join the strike, traffic on the river Schelde will be affected, and the locks in the Antwerp port will probably not be operational.
Airport Brussels (Zaventem):
It is most likely that there will be no activity at Brussels Airport, which will affect all import and export operations.
Public transportation:
We can expect that across the country all public transportation will be affected.
Additionally, we expect that a backlog due to the strike will affect the rest of next week's operations in certain key areas.
BDP is working diligently to find alternative solutions to minimize the impact on our customers and their supply chains.
As the situation with the strike develops, we will keep you informed about any shipments being affected negatively with respect to the requested ETA date.
Should you have any questions, please reach out to your local BDP representative.
