DistantNews
Support us
🇧🇪 Belgium /Economy & Trade

Heidelberg Materials Workers Strike Over Long Hours in Belgium

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Employees at Heidelberg Materials' concrete plants in Genk, Lommel, and Tessenderlo, Belgium, have initiated a spontaneous work stoppage.
  • The strike is a protest against excessively long working days, sometimes reaching 15 hours, and the company's handling of a recent incident involving a severely injured employee.
  • The workers are demanding a dialogue with management to address working conditions, with the strike set to continue until clear agreements are reached.

Workers at Heidelberg Materials, formerly Interbeton, have launched a spontaneous strike at their concrete plants in Genk, Lommel, and Tessenderlo, Belgium. The employees are protesting what they describe as excessively long working days, with some shifts reportedly lasting up to 15 hours. This action was triggered by the company's decision to dismiss a colleague who suffered a serious accident shortly before the construction holiday.

Before the construction holiday, an employee fell asleep at the wheel of his truck, after a long series of workdays of 15 hours. The man kantelde om and was seriously injured. The management then dismissed him for urgent reasons, because he was not wearing his seatbelt.

— Jan StaalThe union secretary details the incident that sparked the strike.

Jan Staal, secretary for ABVV Bouw (Belgian General Federation of Labour), explained the incident: "Before the construction holiday, an employee fell asleep at the wheel of his truck after a long series of 15-hour workdays. The man overturned and was seriously injured. The management then dismissed him for urgent reasons because he was not wearing his seatbelt."

Staal criticized the company's response, stating, "Instead of intervening and saying that he should no longer drive for so many hours, they effectively encouraged people to work that many hours." He added that the union believes management has abandoned its employees, only to "ruthlessly drop them" when an accident occurs, and even dismiss them. The situation is further aggravated as the company is now announcing another series of long workdays to pour floors on certain sites, a demand the employees refuse to accept any longer.

Instead of intervening and saying that he should no longer drive for so many hours, they effectively encouraged people to work that many hours.

— Jan StaalStaal criticizes the company's management for allegedly pushing employees to work excessive hours.

Union representatives from ABVV are present at the Genk plant, while ACV (Confederation of Christian Trade Unions) is supporting the workers in Tessenderlo. The unions are awaiting a response from the management to initiate discussions about the problematic working conditions. The strike will persist until concrete agreements are established regarding the work environment. Approximately 40 to 50 people are estimated to work across the three Limburg locations of the former Interbeton.

When an accident occurs, the management lets them fall hard. And worse, they dismiss them.

— Jan StaalThe union secretary expresses the workers' feeling of abandonment by the company following the accident.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog