Home > Belgium hit by second mass strike

Belgium hit by second mass strike

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 30 October 2005
4 comments

Un/Employment Strikes Europe Retirements - Pensions

Belgian workers have caused widespread disruption with a 24-hour national strike in protest at government plans to up the retirement age from 58 to 60.

Few buses and trams were running in most cities, and Charleroi airport, south of Brussels, was shut down.

Trains were not affected as unions wanted them to keep running to carry people to protests in the capital.

Tens of thousands of protesters have been marching through Brussels to get the prime minister to reconsider.

A primary school in Brussels decided to allow retired teachers and grandparents to take the lessons as part of the nationwide protest.

Unions are calling for more provision for older workers, saying that employees over 50 are often jettisoned when companies attempt to cut costs.

No talks

They also complain that in other cases, the new plans would keep older people working longer while young people struggle to find jobs.

"If the government does not respond favourably... the atmosphere will become fiercer," Socialist union leader Xavier Verboven told local VRT television.

"November is risking to become a very turbulent month... This is a signal to the government."

Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt’s government has rejected calls to re-open talks with unions on the proposed changes to state pensions.

It is the second major strike in Belgium this month.

The strike on 7 October brought much of the country to a virtual standstill, with transport, schools and government services hit by protests.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4385710.stm

Forum posts

  • Belgium the forme colonial power is practically bankrupt. But nevertheless people need some money or just opportunities to make some, in order to survive. Politicans should know these. Around the world the brutal face of globalism destroys normal lifestyles. Do we have to sacrafice everything, in order to gain a "modern" economy, which basically means slavery?

    Socialism or barbarism - make your choice!

  • "The strike is bad for the economy", politicians and capitalists shout.
    Well, it may remind them that if lowest level people, with nobody under them to command, just stop working, then their "leaders" are out of a job at once.
    It may remind them who are the ones that really create the basis of all wealth.
    That’s very useful, I would think.

  • They should think themselves lucky. Here in Switzerland, the retirement age is 65, and they are planning to put it up, on step at a time, to 67.

    • In Switzerland the elderly still keep their jobs. That is not the case in other European countries. They companies start to sort out people at an age bellow 50. I wouldn’t mind to work until I’m 67, but I would not be able to find a job. People would also put up with having temporary jobs, but to move around and to be a day worker, who can afford this.