LeTEC strike halts Charleroi buses and cuts one in three Liège-Verviers journeys

Updated 27 August 2026 — A 48-hour strike by LeTEC workers halted all bus services in Charleroi

Lieu

Charleroi

Walloon city where no LeTEC buses were operating during Thursday’s reported update.

Pourquoi c’est important

Walloon city where no LeTEC buses were operating during Thursday’s reported update.

About

Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not far from the border with France. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

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Liège

Walloon city where bus, tram and BUSWAY services continued at reduced levels.

Pourquoi c’est important

Walloon city where bus, tram and BUSWAY services continued at reduced levels.

About

Liège is a city and municipality in the Belgian region of Wallonia, and the capital of the eponymous province. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from borders with the Netherlands and Germany. In Liège, the Meuse meets the river Ourthe. The city is part of the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia. It is still the principal economic and cultural centre of the region.

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Lieu

Verviers

Walloon city within the operating area where roughly one journey in three was cancelled.

Pourquoi c’est important

Walloon city within the operating area where roughly one journey in three was cancelled.

About

Verviers is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.

Official site ↗View source record ↗

In Liège, LeTEC said the disruption was evolving and cancellations could rise to one journey in two during the day. The operator reported that BUSWAY 2 was running for the most part, while the Liège tram was operating at roughly half its normal frequency, according to Today in Liège. In Charleroi, no buses left the depots, 7sur7 reported. Passengers across Wallonia were advised by LeTEC, through notices relayed by Télé MB and the University of Liège, to check the operator’s website or mobile application before travelling and to arrange alternatives where possible.

The common union front called the two-day strike after talks with management failed to settle a dispute over an annual €100 allocation in eco-vouchers. Télé MB reported that negotiations on Tuesday ended without agreement. The unions want the benefit retained, while management says it formed part of a collective labour agreement that expired at the end of 2025, according to The Brussels Times and QU4TRE. CGSP representative Serge Delchambre said management had proposed restoring the vouchers in exchange for ending compensatory “heat hours”. LeTEC marketing director Stéphane Thiery told QU4TRE that Tuesday’s meeting concerned the company’s broader savings plan rather than a final negotiation on eco-vouchers.

The dispute sits within a larger financial negotiation at the Opérateur de transport de Wallonie. The Brussels Times and QU4TRE reported that its 2024-2028 public-service contract sets a savings target of about €20 million by 2029, slightly more than 2% of the overall budget. Unions and management are expected to continue discussing that programme through the end of the year.

The immediate pressure falls on commuters, school pupils and other passengers during the first week of the French-speaking school year. Friday’s service level remains unknown and can change by route, so passengers should verify individual journeys shortly before departure. The strike notice ends after 28 August; LeTEC had not announced a confirmed network-wide timetable for a full return to normal when this update was prepared.