"Severe disruption" expected to Brussels’ transport on Friday
Brussels’ transport workers will demonstrate in the centre of Brussels on Friday, which will lead to disruptions – possibly a standstill – of MIVB transport in the city
Commuters encouraged to find other transport
Staff are planning to protest in front of the Justice Palace in Brussels against what they consider to be a too-lenient sentence given to a man found guilty of killing an MIVB inspector in 2012. Alexandre Vander Elst was sentenced to 40 months suspended because of what the court found were extenuating circumstances. He was also ordered to pay more than €50,000 in damages to the family.
The protest is due to begin at 10.00; unions originally said they were avoiding peak hours in order to minimise disruption. It now seems that the problem will be more severe than expected, with one union representative predicting that buses and trams would “hardly ride out” from morning until evening.
MIVB is advising passengers to seek alternative means of travel. Information will be continually updated via the authority’s Facebook page (facebook.com/mijnmivb) and Twitter account (twitter.com/STIBMIVB).
The independent rail union OVS, which represents a small minority of rail workers, called on its members to join in the protest but stressed that only those members who were off-duty at the time should attend. The impact on rail services should be minimal, if any.
The family of the victim, Iliaz Tahiraj, said they were “disappointed” with the sentence, handed down by a Brussels court earlier this week, but will not appeal.
Photo courtesy of b.subway.net/Wikimedia Commons
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