‘Not Lemons’
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Belgium Thursday in protest of planned cuts to public services and a pension reform plan, on the first day of a multi-day nationwide strike that halted much of the country, Reuters reported.
About 60,000 people joined the anti-government strike in Brussels, demonstrating against the government’s plan to cut funds to public services and reforms to pensions that will penalize lower-income earners.
Some protesters held signs with slogans such as “We’re not lemons,” while others clashed with police outside the headquarters of the two center-right parties – the Mouvement Réformateur and Les Engages – both members of the governing coalition.
The strike disrupted public transportation and the postal service, with firefighters and military personnel joining the protests.
About 430 flights at Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Antwerp, and Ostend airports were canceled on Thursday after baggage handlers and air traffic controllers walked off the job, Politico reported.
The pension reform plan will reward those who work past the legal retirement age – with 35 years of service – and penalize those who retire early. The current system doesn’t make such a distinction.
The new coalition government – sworn in on Feb. 3 after eight months of negotiations and led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever – is made up of five parties, including the Right, centrists, and the socialist party.
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