Rail users in Belgium will be hit by industrial action for three days between 10 pm on 8th March and 11th March 2026, following a strike announcement by CGSP Cheminots / ACOD Spoor Union. The withdrawal of labour marks over a month’s worth of strike days since the start of 2025 in response to government pension and employment contract reforms.
The strikes come after a five-day walkout at the end of January, and 26 days of industrial action by rail workers last year. The disruptive impact of the strikes could be felt beyond the walkout itself, because, as in previous cases, a national protest demonstration will also take place on 12th March in the capital, Brussels. Holding the rally after the strikes means that more people will be able to travel to attend it.
Op 12 maart 2026 gaat ons verzet tegen de sociale afbraak van de Arizona-regering voort met een grote nationale betoging in Brussel. Afspraak om 10u aan het Noordstation in Brussel. #12maart #acod #nationalebetoging
— ACOD (@acod.bsky.social) 2 марта 2026 г. в 10:30
The whole nationwide SNCB-NMBS network will be affected, as well as other elements of the rail service, including Infrabel (the Belgian state-owned limited company responsible for managing and developing the country’s railway infrastructure) and HR Rail (the legal employer of rail workers).
The Minister of Mobility, Jean-Luc Crucke and rail union representatives have made efforts to reach a compromise agreement, with two deals put forward to union members last year. However, workers did not accept the terms. Crucke has since abandoned talks with the unions, and the measures in question have been greenlit by the Council of Ministers.
Speaking at the end of February 2026, Sophie Dutordoir, CEO and Chair of SNCB-NMBS, said the ongoing strikes were disproportionate and damaging. “I don’t underestimate the changes for my employees, but what’s happening today is really no longer reasonable. These are not only detrimental to passengers, but also to the government and the railway company due to reputational and financial damage,” she said.
Meanwhile, unions argue that the reforms to Law 1926 “dismantle HR Rail, weakening operations and undermining service coherence,” as well as imposing a two-thirds majority rule on the collective bargaining group Commission Paritaire, which could establish a “unilateral decision-making” model. In addition, the removal of rail workers’ permanent “Statut” (civil servant status) puts them at risk of increasingly casual and precarious employment contracts, they say.
Ilyas Alba, a Belgian train conductor with a large following on social media, has expressed sympathy with Belgian commuters and provides updates on train timetables on his pages. He commented on January’s strikes, saying: “Rail workers are not playing politics, regardless of the CGSP president describing these walkouts as political. Rail workers are simply defending their rights and their dignity.”
