Service Alert Belgium - Update

Service Alert Belgium - Bpost Only

A five-week strike at Bpost, protesting changes to working hours (shifting shifts later to match e-commerce demand), has ended but caused massive disruption, leaving over 16 million letters and 700,000 parcels in a backlog by early May 2026. Strikes, hardest in Brussels and Wallonia, cost the firm roughly €15 million.

Current Status as of mid-May 2026:

Strike Ended: The primary, long-running strike has stopped, with operations slowly resuming.

Negotiations Continue: Despite the resumption of work, no final, formal agreement has been signed between unions and management, with talks ongoing to reach a solution by late May.

Backlog Impact: It will take significant time to clear the backlog of letters and parcels.

Wait Times: Serious delays remain, particularly for registered mail, residence cards, and passports in Brussels and Wallonia.

While the main postal dispute has paused, a separate, broader national demonstration in Belgium is taking place on 12 May 2026, which may have caused further traffic or logistics, although it was not directly related to the initial Bpost operational.