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Protesters hold signs as they take part in a demonstration during a national day of action against the austerity plan of the federal government, in Brussels Thursday. (AFP)
Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Brussels Thursday in the latest mass protest against austerity reforms brought in by Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s conservative government.
Police said the march drew 80,000 people — matching the turnout at the last such demonstration in October — while unions put the figure at more than 100,000.
Public transport and government services were also widely disrupted by strike action, with Belgium’s two main airports cancelling all scheduled departures due to a shortage of security staff and baggage handlers.
Belgian unions have been mobilised since De Wever took office early last year against government reforms to the pension and unemployment systems.
“This shows people are strongly determined, but also that they are anxious about the geopolitical situation,” Marie-Helene Ska, secretary-general of the Christian CSC, one of three unions that called the day of action, told AFP.
“It shows that making ends meet is going to become really difficult with prices going up for basic goods like petrol, diesel, heating products,” she said.
Many banners at the march displayed a crossed-out number 67 — the age at which both public and private sector employees will be able to draw a full pension by 2030, as early retirement options are phased out.
The reform is accompanied by a new system of penalties and bonuses that unions say is highly unfavourable to people with stop-start careers, particularly women.
“At 25, I want to plan my life — not just how to survive,” read a placard held aloft by a young woman demonstrator.
Belgium’s parliament last year also approved a flagship reform limiting unemployment benefits in most cases to two years — after which recipients are switched onto much lower social security payments.
Unions warn it will push thousands of Belgians into poverty, especially in the French-speaking south where the jobless rate is twice as high as in the Dutch-speaking north.
Addressing parliament Thursday, De Wever vowed the government would not back down.
“It’s our duty to stay the course,” he said. “Failure to do so would be an act of selfishness towards our children and our grandchildren,” he told lawmakers.
Dozens of associations joined the march, including the Belgian branch of anti-poverty group ATD Quart Monde — which voiced alarm about the impact of reforming unemployment benefits.
“We fear a huge increase in poverty rather than a return to work,” volunteer Baptiste Boulbes told AFP, who said the training offered to get people back into employment was “often extremely limited”.
Police said the demonstration passed off peacefully for the most part, although 50 people were briefly detained after “troublemakers” vandalised a bank branch in the city centre.
