Brussels Propreté wants to return to nightly waste collection rounds across the Capital Region from 15 May, however, the three major trade unions representing the workers have made it clear that they are not in favour.
The new waste collection rounds would run from 20:00 to 02:00, as Brussels Propreté wants to avoid the rush hour and shorten the period when rubbish bags are out on the streets.
While the unions did not immediately want to dismiss the idea of night-time waste collection, they do have some reservations, such as the fact that the rounds seem to be increasing in length.
"What if the workers do not finish their route on time, will they have to work all night?" Michel Piersoul of the VSOA union told Bruzz.
Currently, Brussels-Propreté waste collectors are allowed to commute to and from their rounds by public transport free of charge. In the middle of the night, however, that is impossible – meaning they will have to take the car.
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Additionally, in the proposed plan of Brussels-Propreté, the weight of waste is also increasing from four to five tonnes to more than six tonness per person. "There are just too many logistical ambiguities and questions that remain unanswered," the unions say.
They will soon be discussing this together and looking at what steps can be taken, but a strike is one of the possibilities.
