Public-transport operator TEC entered its eleventh consecutive day of industrial action on 5 February, leaving much of Wallonia without reliable bus or tram services and causing headaches for international staff based in Liège, Namur and Charleroi. The walk-out began on 26 January after unions rejected regional budget cuts they say threaten job security and previously negotiated benefits.
According to TEC’s real-time dashboard, more than half of Liège-Verviers routes are completely suspended, while the Charleroi metro is running a skeletal service of just 13 lines. Even in the relatively unscathed province of Luxembourg, employers report sporadic cancellations that make shift planning difficult.
Multinationals with distribution centres around the E42 corridor have laid on charter coaches and increased car-pool subsidies to keep production lines moving. Several relocation providers told The Brussels Times they are advising newly arrived expatriates to stay in temporary accommodation near worksites rather than risk daily commutes.
![Eleven-day strike cripples Walloon buses and trams, stranding commuters and assignees]()
For these internationally mobile employees, ensuring visa and residence documentation remains up to date is equally crucial. VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) offers step-by-step assistance with work permits, renewals and family visas, streamlining paperwork so assignees can focus on navigating the current transport uncertainty.
Talks between unions and the Opérateur de Transport de Wallonie (OTW) resume this afternoon. If no breakthrough is reached, labour leaders warn the strike could roll into the February half-term, complicating travel for Belgian families and cross-border workers from Luxembourg and northern France.
Longer term, business groups are urging the Walloon government to ring-fence public-transport funding, arguing that sustainable mobility is critical to the region’s appeal for foreign investment—particularly as companies weigh stricter car-leasing rules linked to Belgium’s 2026 green-mobility tax reforms.
According to TEC’s real-time dashboard, more than half of Liège-Verviers routes are completely suspended, while the Charleroi metro is running a skeletal service of just 13 lines. Even in the relatively unscathed province of Luxembourg, employers report sporadic cancellations that make shift planning difficult.
Multinationals with distribution centres around the E42 corridor have laid on charter coaches and increased car-pool subsidies to keep production lines moving. Several relocation providers told The Brussels Times they are advising newly arrived expatriates to stay in temporary accommodation near worksites rather than risk daily commutes.
For these internationally mobile employees, ensuring visa and residence documentation remains up to date is equally crucial. VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) offers step-by-step assistance with work permits, renewals and family visas, streamlining paperwork so assignees can focus on navigating the current transport uncertainty.
Talks between unions and the Opérateur de Transport de Wallonie (OTW) resume this afternoon. If no breakthrough is reached, labour leaders warn the strike could roll into the February half-term, complicating travel for Belgian families and cross-border workers from Luxembourg and northern France.
Longer term, business groups are urging the Walloon government to ring-fence public-transport funding, arguing that sustainable mobility is critical to the region’s appeal for foreign investment—particularly as companies weigh stricter car-leasing rules linked to Belgium’s 2026 green-mobility tax reforms.
