Flemish Minister for Mobility Lydia Peeters is resentful and talks about “bullying” of the union ACOD towards the traveler and De Lijn. The minister emphasizes that a new management agreement with De Lijn is on the program this year and that there will also be a study to see whether De Lijn is still sufficient as an internal organizer for the core and additional network in Flanders for the next ten years. Peeters thinks it is appropriate to start the procedure for guaranteed services for De Lijn this month.
"The many strike days and canceled rides do not benefit this story," said Lydia Peeters (Open VLD).
The unions do not feel addressed. According to ACOD secretary Rita Coeck (photo), the management of De Lijn is still not seeking rapprochement. “They are not looking for solutions, they are looking for an explanation. Perception is paramount. The staff no longer accept that, ”said Rita Coeck (62), who has been active for 40 years to defend public transport.
"Not only in the interest of the staff, but also of the travelers," says the federal secretary of the socialist ACOD, the only union at De Lijn that has called for work to be deposited on Wednesday. "Not wanting but having to: the situation was never as dramatic as it is now, with management stuck in denial."
All week there have been strikes at De Lijn, in Antwerp and in other provinces, causing nuisance to travelers. In a new update, De Lijn says that after 20 hours there will again be no buses and trams in Ghent. In West Flanders, about half of the journeys are not driven, in Flemish Brabant there is nuisance on all lines and in Limburg the nuisance remains limited, according to De Lijn.
