About 80,000 at trade union demonstration in Brussels
Around 80,000 people took part in a national union demonstration in Brussels on Thursday, according to police figures, making it one of the largest protests in Belgium in recent years. The march ended peacefully in the early afternoon, with the final participants arriving at Brussels-South railway station at around 2 p.m. Police said the turnout matched the roughly 80,000 participants who joined a major demonstration on 14 October last year.
Union leaders said the demonstration reflected widespread opposition to the policies of the federal government led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Bert Engelaar, chairman of the ABVV-FGTB trade union, estimated the turnout at around 100,000 people and urged the government to reopen talks. “These people deserve to sit down with the Group of Ten and the government. They deserve it,” Engelaar said, criticising what he described as a lack of dialogue with unions.
The unions oppose several government measures, including changes to the wage indexation system, greater labour flexibility and new pension rules. They argue the reforms will harm workers and weaken social protections.
“We’ll keep trying and reaching out to the government. Yesterday, we sent another letter to De Wever together with the unions, but he’s also remained silent. Yet we have clear, workable alternatives to De Wever’s cuts.”
