Belgians Go on Nationwide Strike in Protest of Pension Reform
Workers on strike, Belgium. Jan. 13, 2025. X/ @politis_news
January 14, 2025 Hour: 7:29 am
The protest took place amid negotiations to form the future federal government coalition.
On Monday, public transport, air travel, schools, and essential services were disrupted across Belgium as a nationwide strike took place to protest proposed pension reforms by the coalition forming the new federal government.
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In Brussels, over 30,000 firefighters, teachers, and union members, marched to the roads. They denounced pension reforms as an “attack on pensions,” calling for improved working conditions, increased employer contributions, and shorter career requirements for demanding professions. They also criticized corporate tax breaks, arguing that the reforms would place an unfair burden on workers.
The protest, organised by the common trade union front, took place at a time when negotiations are intensifying between the five parties that aspire to form part of the future federal government coalition, trying to overcome the last obstacles to an agreement, including the thorny issue of pensions. The unions fear that the future government will resort to a pension reform to achieve savings of 3 billion euros.
The march began at around 10:00 local time and ran for about two and a half hours through the most central streets of the Belgian capital in a festive atmosphere, although there were occasional incidents.
Some 25,000 protesters were teachers from the Flemish education system, a figure that the French-speaking public broadcaster RTBF described as “historic”.
Public transport was severely affected, with only one in three trains operating between major cities. In Brussels, metro, tram, and bus services ran at reduced capacity, while most bus routes in Wallonia were completely suspended. Air travel also faced significant disruptions, with approximately 40 percent of flights at Brussels Airport canceled and all flights at Charleroi Airport suspended from midday onward.
The education sector was hit hard, with about 40 percent of primary and secondary schools in Flanders closed. In addition, garbage collection and postal services experienced delays in Brussels and Walloon Brabant.
teleSUR/ JF Sources: EFE – Xinhua
