Post collections disrupted on Friday due to strike

Post deliveries in Belgium will take longer than usual over the coming days - as a strike by some collection staff over job cuts coincides with a long public holiday weekend.

The CSC trade union said its members would not be emptying postboxes on Friday, after it emerged that Bpost plans to axe several hundred jobs by 2020 and outsource several departments to third-party contractors.

Bpost said increased automation and new technology meant the need for fewer jobs. The company said the move was "not easy to take" but "necessary for the future" and said it would conduct full negotiations with unions over the restructuring plan.

Union rep Stéphane Daussaint said: "The strike action might not be limited to collection staff, it could be extended to deliveries as well." He said Bpost also had plans to stop Saturday post collections, meaning a letter posted on Friday mid-afternoon would not arrive until late Tuesday morning at the earliest.

The disruption to collections on Friday coincides with a long weekend for many in Belgium. Bpost branch staff will not be working on Monday 30 April, ahead of the 1 May public holiday, but delivery staff will work Monday as normal.