Bpost blockades end, with strike costing millions

The blockades at Bpost distribution centres has finally ended this week, but the backlog is still being cleared and the strikes have cost the postal company an estimated €15 million.

Postal workers have been striking since the end of March against proposed changes to their work schedules that, among other things, would entail starting and ending rounds later, which employees say would jeopardise their work life balance and up-end family routines.

Negotiations between unions and management frequently broke down, with management refusing to budge on its stance and workers blockading distribution centres in Brussels and Wallonia. Flanders has been largely unaffected.

Bpost spokesperson Mathieu Goedefroy said that while a number of postal workers are still on strike in Wallonia and the capital, the blockades have ended and it is now focusing on clearing the backlog.

Doing so is expected to take at least 10 days, with priority given to parcels, condolence letters, number plates and registered mail.

No social agreement has yet been reached at the postal company. Talks between trade unions, management and social mediators resumed on Wednesday.

The initial aim was to reach an agreement by the end of April, but that date has been pushed back by a month.

The weeks-long strike is costing the postal company at least €15 million in operating profit, according to parent group Bnode.

In addition to the backlog of more than 16 million letters and up to 700,000 parcels, Bpost also estimates that it lost about 3.2 million parcels to competitors.

The €15 million figure includes lost revenue and additional costs for emergency measures and clearing the backlog. The postal company has not yet factored in what it called "future, indirect effects".

For the whole of 2026, Bnode is still sticking to its previous profit forecast: an adjusted operating profit of between €165 and €195 million.

The group now says, however, that the actual figure is likely to be closer to the lower end of that range due to the strike.