After a months-long dispute, Flemish Minister of Mobility and Ports Annick De Ridder (N-VA) has reached an agreement with the pilots on pension reform. The agreement will still need to be further worked out through the relevant consultative bodies.

The ongoing strike action by the pilot services had a massive impact on shipping traffic. At its peak, more than 150 ships were waiting off the ports of Antwerp, Ghent, and Zeebrugge, with dozens more in the North Sea. Waiting times for ships sometimes exceeded four days.

Protracted standoff

The pilots’ coalition – comprising the three different pilots’ associations (BVL, OVL, and AVK) and the three labor unions (ACOD, ACV Transom, and VSOA) – had been carrying out intermittent work-to-rule actions in waves since mid-June, during which they worked only during office hours and did not sail at night.

They took these actions out of dissatisfaction with the pension reform and the status of pilots – Flemish civil servants working in the maritime sector. Under the proposed measures, a young sea or river pilot would receive 45% less in pension benefits compared to an older pilot.

The BvL also pointed out that a pilot’s pay consists of a base salary and pilot allowances, on which both taxes and social security contributions are paid, while pension benefits are primarily acquired based on the basic salary. According to the association, this could reduce the pension to about 25% of final salary, which is significantly less than the ratio they consider normal for employees.

These pilots were also upset that the second pillar of their pension was not treated the same as the second pillar for salaried employees in other systems.

But the protracted standoff between the pilots and the minister also stemmed from dissatisfaction over the possible establishment of a private pilotage service. Such a service could operate alongside the public sector in the future. Another source of discontent: a chronic staff shortage.

Antwerp’s pride was shattered

As a result, the unions called on their pilots to take the maximum rest period. All these actions led to long wait times, with as many as 150 to 200 ships waiting in line at a time. Ships even diverted to foreign ports, such as Dunkirk and Vlissingen, or sailed past the Flemish ports.

Ships cannot simply enter the ports of Antwerp or Ghent without a pilot. The Scheldt estuary, the coastal approaches, and the canal routes require specialized local navigation. As a result, pilots constitute a relatively small but strategically very influential professional group.

The logical consequence: chaos at the terminals, cancellations of transport orders, and significant reputational damage, particularly for the Port of Antwerp-Bruges – something that must have been a source of heartache for Minister De Ridder, given her background, which includes roles as a director at the Antwerp Municipal Port Authority, Katoen Natie, and as an alderwoman for the port.

Negotiated de-escalation

But now an agreement has finally been reached, and the minister reacted with relief on X. “I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with the BvL pilots. I am relieved that services to our ports can resume, and we are now working on further implementing the agreement within the relevant consultative bodies.”

The exact terms of the new agreement are not yet known. The specific details still need to be worked out within the relevant consultative bodies. It is therefore unclear whether they received any additional concessions beyond the federal regulations.

The specific agreement between Minister De Ridder and the pilots’ unions concerns a supplementary, sector-specific arrangement, in addition to or alongside what the federal pension reform already stipulates.

It is therefore likely that the minister made commitments within her own areas of authority regarding staffing, workload, compensation, and supplementary arrangements. At the federal level, pensions fall under the purview of Jan Jambon, a fellow party member of De Ridder, which complicated the situation for her.

Nevertheless, this appears to be more of a negotiated de-escalation than the definitive end of the conflict. The issue of federal pension legislation remains unresolved, and the repeated disruptions have reignited the debate over minimum service levels, reforms, or even private alternatives.