Belgium's three largest trade unions are holding a coordinated nationwide strike to protest the government's proposed austerity measures. This is reported by foreign media.
The strike from November 24 to 26 is aimed at reducing social spending and changes in labor legislation, including raising the retirement age, liberalizing the labor market and reforming unemployment benefits.
A general strike covers key industries and could lead to a partial shutdown of the country's economy. At the call of the CGSP trade union, representing workers in transport, healthcare and administration, public services joined the strike — schools, kindergartens, hospitals.
The movement of railway and public transport has been stopped since November 24. The railway operator SNCB said it would be able to operate only 20% of regular flights, and flights were canceled at Belgium's largest airports, Brussels-Zaventem and Charleroi.
On November 24, after several months of negotiations, the government agreed on a budget that provides for: higher taxes on stock purchases, airline tickets and natural gas; the introduction of a new tax on banks and cuts in government spending in order to reduce the budget deficit, which amounts to 4.5% of GDP, by 9.2 billion euros by 2029. The national debt of 104.7% of GDP significantly exceeds the limit set by EU rules and is one of the highest in Europe, along with Greece, Italy and France.
