A strike by dockworkers at ports in Belgium and other locations across Europe is expected to occur on Friday, January 17, according to communiqués distributed this week by the Antwerp Port Federation, via BDP International subsidiary T.I. n.v.

The Antwerp Port Federation memos include the following points:

• A general strike of dock laborers will take place in all Flemish seaports on Friday, January 17th, starting at 06.00 hours, and ending on Saturday 18th January, 06.00 hours.

• The unions have said that the industrial action on Friday will be Europe-wide. According to the unions, among others, action will be taken in all ports in the Hamburg-Le Havre range.

• The 24-hour strike in the Port of Antwerp means in practice that no ships will be loaded or unloaded. The action will only affect dock work, not white-collar personnel.

• The unions have given formal assurance that work will be fully resumed as of the first shift on Saturday at 06.00 hours.

According to other reports, the anticipated one-day work stoppage will be staged to protest a European Union (EU) initiative to introduce additional non-union labor to certain port jobs.

As more information becomes available, BDP Trade Alerts will be posted. Representatives at T.I. n.v. will also be available to assist with service-specific questions, as needed. Phone: +32 (0) 3 234-57-11. E-mail: sjue@ti.be.

Thank you.