[300112.EN.SEA] Belgian Sea And Airport Strikes Feared This Week To Protest Euro Austerity

ALL Belgium seaports and airports are to be closed this week by a nationwide general strike in protest of austerity measures brought on by the Euro debt crisis.

Some 50,000 protesters took to the streets of Brussels last month to protest against government cuts.

In a notice to trade, Inchape Shipping Services (ISS) said: "We advise shipowners and operators not to attempt to deliver any cargo to Belgian ports on Monday [today], and we are warning that further disruption to schedules may continue into the week. Our offices will be running with a skeleton staff on Monday."

EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels Monday to discuss budget rules for governments and ways to stimulate growth in the crisis-hit continent. As part of the strike, aircraft are also likely to be grounded at Brussels Airport, after pilots agreed to take part, trade unions said.

"We are, like all Europeans, confronted with austerity programmes that only look to small shoulders and ask nothing of the broadest shoulders. There have been ample possibilities to negotiate but it's clear that the government is not willing to negotiate, so we will go ahead with the strike," a trade unionist told London's International Freighting Weekly.

ISS said it has been unofficially told that terminals will be closed from 6am January 30 to 6am January 31.

It expected the knock-on effects will last for the whole week, and said that "dockers, pilots, tugboats and locks operator will be involved, and that roadblocks with strike pickets will occupy all access roads to the ports."

Source : HKSG, 30.01.12.