At least 40% of flights bound for Brussels International Airport this Monday have been canceled as a result of a general strike in Belgium against the cut in pensions and other social benefits for which thousands of protesters are expected to gather in the capital.
The authorities also foresee strong disruptions to public transport and other sectors in a day of strike that will also ground all flights that were scheduled to take place starting at noon. departure from Charleroi airport (50 kilometers south of Brussels), although arrivals will continue to operate.
They have also joined the general strike sectors such as education, railways, transport and public services such as post office or health. Without knowing the first monitoring figures, the organizers expected between 5,000 and 10,000 protesters at the protest in Brussels with participation from all parts of the country.
The majority unions have called for this action as “notice” to pension reform plans for the future federal government, whose formation remains in the air since June due to the difficulties of the leader of the Flemish nationalists and negotiator, Bart de Wever (N-VA), to form a coalition with the socialists (Vooruit) and Christian Democrats (CD&V) Flemish and with the French-speaking Christian Democrats (Les Engagés) and Liberals (MR).
“If the (government) trainer De Wever wants to make 3 billion cuts in pensions, the workers will pay the bill,” warn the unions FGTB, CSC and CGSLB in their statements to the local press. In statements to the RTL network, De Wever has rejected the “horror stories” that in his opinion are spread by the unions and asked citizens “wait for an agreement” before organizing protests for a reform that he predicts will be “tough.”
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