BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium was set for a two-day rail strike starting late on Tuesday, disrupting the entire national network and forcing the cancellation of most high-speed trains to Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
The unions are in dispute with the government over planned reforms at the state-owned rail company SNCB, including a proposed 20 percent budget cut over five years and a demand for greater productivity.
Union leaders in the French-speaking southern half of Belgium have recommended workers there strike, while their counterparts in Dutch-speaking Flanders have not, saying negotiations are the way forward.
A second strike planned for Jan 21-23 has been provisionally pushed back to February. This week's strike will start at 10 p.m. local time (2100 GMT) and last for 48 hours.
SNCB says that disruption will be widespread, with many trains crossing the country and with Flemish workers entitled to strike if they wish.
Eurostar said it would run the normal Brussels route from London only as far as the French city of Lille.
The high-speed Thalys, which runs trains from Paris through Brussels to Amsterdam and to Cologne said it would run no services on Wednesday and only two late on Thursday.
Unions say the budget cuts will lead to a 6,000 reduction of the current workforce of some 33,000 and an average loss of six days of holiday per worker.
The company offers 13 days extra holiday per year in return for working two hours longer than the 36 hour norm per week, but the government says not all workers are working 38-hour weeks and so should not receive all the extra holiday days.
(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop)