In a statement, Geneva-based MSC said it had “no understanding of this and previous union actions by the pilots and will review its future investment policy in Flanders. This is all taking place in a period when the container freight industry is in deep crisis, and we cannot understand how a group of interested parties can behave in such a way.”

Meanwhile Antwerp city’s alderman for the port, Marc Van Peel, has said he will look into the possibility of imposing a legal obligation on pilots to turn up for work, as well as the option of drafting in “other people with the same competences” during any future industrial action. “Bringing the port to a standstill because of pension problems was inappropriate,” he said. Then echoing the wartime words of Winston Churchill: “It is rare that so many suffer so much damage at the hands of so few.”

The action led to serious disruption of port traffic. On Wednesday, 15 February, 20 ships were able to be unloaded at Antwerp and leave the port. About 80 more were stranded either at sea awaiting entry to the port or in the port itself awaiting exit. At Zeebrugge, some ships were reported to have been diverted away, while others were being unloaded, with some delay. A spokesman for the Port of Ghent said they changed their planning so that no ships had to be turned away, being dealt with during office hours, when the pilots were on duty. As the actions last week came to an end, Ghent said it would take up to 48 hours to clear the backlog of shipping, with Antwerp estimating a backlog of 24 hours.

Sector agreement until 2013

The pilots, who are government employees, guide ships from the open sea into the ports of Flanders, mainly Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge. Together with a number of other maritime officials, they are protesting at plans that require them to work an extra two years before being eligible for retirement at 62. They are also asking for a reduction in irregular working hours in the later years of a pilot’s career.

Last week, the opposition in the Flemish parliament joined with the majority in condemning the pilots’ action, and even the Christian trade union ACV called for an end to the dispute. Dutch river pilots, who handle about one in four of the ships sailing into Ghent and Antwerp, were said to be “concerned” at the action of their Flemish colleagues. Unlike their Flemish counterparts, Dutch river pilots are independent contractors.

Municipal port manager Eddy Bruyninckx estimated the cost to the Port of Antwerp at about €1 million an hour. “This has delivered another blow to the reliability of the port,” he said.

Flemish mobility minister Hilde Crevits promised the government would try to seek a “quality solution” for the pilots’ concerns, including a working group to look into problems raised. “This is not the moment to be coming to the table with additional demands,” she noted. “In any case, there is a sector agreement for last year and this year. These questions can be brought up when we discuss the new sector agreement for 2013 and 2014.”