Belgium’s DHL workers call strike in airport row

The Union representatives and employees of International courier firm DHL on Friday called on fellow workers at Brussels National Airport to come out on strike in the near future in their support.

The call followed failed talks with the Center Democrat et Humaniste Party (cdH), one of the Brussels region’s leading political parties, over whether DHL should be allowed to expand its operations at Zaventem airport, the national airport in northeastern Brussels.

The cdH, fearing a backlash among local voters who are worried about aircraft noise, is opposed to DHL’s plans.

But the union’s representatives are worried that the US-based courier firm will scale down its Belgian operations massively if it does not get the go ahead to expand, a move that could lead to up to 2,000 job losses.

Although Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt’s Liberal- Socialist government backs DHL’s expansion plans, arguing thousands of jobs are at stake, it cannot give the courier firm the green light without the consent of the country’s regional governments.

Some analysts are now saying that Verhofstadt’s government could fall over the DHL debacle.