The Belgian trade unions, organizers of the demonstration, appealed to national politicians, putting the onus on them to alleviate the financial crisis, ensure wage increases and reduce energy prices.
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According to the unions, the country has experienced an overwhelming increase in energy bill prices. They claim that the average household energy bill has tripled, exceeding 700 euros.
The President of the Belgian General Federation of Labor, Thierry Bodson, said, "It's not that we don't want to pay, but that we can't pay." Although most Belgians have made every effort to reduce energy consumption, there are no positive outcomes, Bodson said.
"Freeze prices, not people" or "Everything goes up but our wages" could be seen on banners in the crowd. Protesters also displayed banners calling for changes to the 1996 "workers' welfare" law to enable unions to negotiate wage increases.
Miranda Ua lens, spokesperson for the Belgian General Labor Foundation, brought to light the government's inaction in the face of such a crisis.
"We have different types of government. We have the Flemish-speaking part, the Dutch-speaking part, they're not doing anything. And they have the money, but they are saying we want our balances of public finances in check, so we're not giving anything. But they need to help the people now," the spokesperson said.
While energy companies are making record profits, the standard of living of the average population has fallen sharply, and protesters are demanding Belgian authorities pull additional resources from these companies to fight rising prices.