Fewer wildcat train strikes in 2012

Belgian railway company SNCB was faced with 10 illegitimate wildcat strikes last year, compared to 11 in 2011. The official figures feature in the evaluation report of the 2008 Social Agreement governing work disruptions, reveals L’Echo. In total, there were 15 train strikes in 2012. The Belgian railways were hit by 66 strikes between 2009 and 2012, 34 of which are considered illegitimate by the company under the Social Agreement. This means that unions did not give SNCB management 10 days’ notice before embarking on a strike. The figures for 2012 do not take into account the Europe-wide actions of February 29 and March 28, nor the national strike on November 14. While strikes did increase between 2009 and 2011 before falling in 2012, the number of workers going on strike hasn’t stopped growing. A total of 24,126 rail workers took part in the 15 industrial actions last year, compared to 14,212 in 2009’s 11 strikes.