Customs Strike At Liege Airport in Belgium, Slow Inspection Leads To Backlog Of Goods

Belgian customs held talks with officials yesterday aimed at ending a long strike by 250customs officers at Liege Airport (LGG) who protested against claims of deteriorating working conditions.

It is reported that warehouses at Liege Airport are full of goods as a result of a regular strike by customs officials about a month ago.

According to a union official, customs officials have inspected only 300 parcels a day since December 11, instead of the normal 10000, resulting in an estimated backlog of 120000 parcels and another 6500 small parcels worth customs duties.

Yesterday, customs officials extended the operation to the airport entrance and carried out lengthy inspections of trucks, causing traffic jams, which are expected to continue before talks with mediators.

LGG freight center has become an important entry point for cross-border e-commerce trade between China and Europe, and a number of Chinese e-commerce enterprises headed by Alibaba have settled here.

Alibaba's logistics division Cainiao Intelligent Network has invested heavily in the airport, which has become a hub for its intercontinental flights and pan-European road distribution network.

Ludovic Luciani, secretary-general of the CSC public service union, said in an interview with the local newspaper La Meuse Li è ge that negotiations with management had reached an impasse.

He described the situation as "tense" as management stopped inspecting parcels arriving at the airport because of the strike, which heightened tensions and increased the risk that drugs and counterfeit goods went undetected.

He also claimed that customs officials were prohibited from conducting security checks, which undermined the fight against terrorism.

"Today we will see if we can agree on a proposal to achieve a better work-family life balance for customs officials," he said.

The union requires written commitments on key performance indicators, the number of flights and the measurement of cargo tonnage.

"A spokesman for LGG operators said: "according to the feedback we have received, the proportion of parcels subject to customs supervision is still low compared to the total tonnage of the airport.

According to the nature of the goods handled, some warehouses suffered more losses than others. E-commerce freight is more affected than ordinary goods or perishable goods. "

The spokesman added that the overall import volume of LGG in November / December was higher than in 2022, especially from China.