Public transport workers in Brussels staged a surprise strike on Monday, catching the capital’s residents off guard.
The strike on the STIB/MIVB public transport network took place amid an ongoing freeze on the recruitment of new staff. The CGSP trade union members blocked bus and tram depots across the city’s transport network, although the disruption was minor. In total, the strike affected 23 bus routes and 12 tram lines, although the metro service was not affected.
The cause was the STIB’s decision to freeze the recruitment of new staff this year, which is part of a wider ban on recruitment in Brussels’ public sector aimed at saving money. The recruitment freeze is being felt not only by staff but also by public transport users.
“In a spirit of responsibility, the CGSP had suspended its industrial action to give dialogue a genuine chance. This suspension was, however, clearly conditional on there being no new cost-cutting measures affecting workers, working conditions or the service provided to the public,” according to the union, which added that, as these demands were not met, a protest took place.
The trade union has expressed concern about the impact on the organisation’s operations and is calling for a resumption of investment in staff so that “the people of Brussels can count on a high-quality public service”.
Since 2025, the STIB has been under a moratorium on hiring new staff; only operational staff are being replaced. In 2026, this recruitment freeze was extended to all staff as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures. An analysis of STIB’s annual reports showed that the total number of permanent staff fell from 10,274 in 2024 to 10,269 in 2025.
Despite the decline over the last few years, since 2019 STIB has seen a 10% increase in operational staff and an 18% increase in technical staff.
