Belgium general strike

The blog a few days ago reported on a near-general strike in Italy against anti-working class legislation. Today we see a massive anti-austerity strike in Belgium. The strike extends beyond the capital, Brussels, to both French and Flemish-speaking regions of the country.

Union-led strikes against the new centre-right coalition government of Charles Miche budget plan have cut air and rail service to Belgium, and affected schools, businesses and government offices across the country. The government intends scrapping the customary cost-of-living raise for 2015 as well as plans to raise the country's retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2030 and institute additional public sector cutbacks. The austerity measures targeted by protesters are intended to save 11 billion euros ($13.69 bn, £8.7bn) during the new government's five-year term. Protest organisers say the Belgian administration’s policies are unjust as they target workers instead of businesses. Taking to the streets of the country’s capital many demonstrators blocked key roads. One protester noted the growing demands being placed on people in an age of austerity:

“There are young and older workers, they were all told that they need to work until the age of 65 and now they need to work 2 years more.”

The European Transport Workers’ Federation explained , “The Belgian government is using EU austerity targets to penalize families, employed and unemployed, students and the poorest of society rather than targeting the big capital that remains almost untouched by the government’s austerity measures.” http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/13/390027/belgium-faces-chaos-over-general-strike/

The managing director of Brussels Charleroi Airport, Jean-Jacques Cloquet, described the disruptions to air service as a "real disaster".

The public sector movement against the government’s policies began early November with 100,000 people taking part in a march in the Belgian capital city of Brussels. The rally was followed by a series of strikes.