Rail strike to continue

The negotiations between the rail unions and Belgian rail company NMBS have drawn a blank. The strike by the Walloon wing of the rail unions will continue into tomorrow. Ludo Sempels of the socialist trades union told VRT news that talks to find a way of ending the strike will start again tomorrow.

Like today, Friday promises to be a difficult day for thousands of commuters. Rail traffic in Wallonia is at a standstill and many services in Flanders were also hit as they also serve part of Wallonia.

The strike has come about as a result of discontent among workers at train depot about measures that would see them lose time off given to them for working overtime and anti-social hours.

They are also unhappy about the savings plan drafted by the former Transport Minister Jacqueline Galant (Francophone liberal).

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