Trade Unions' strike shuts down planes, trains and much of Belgium

Belgium came to a halt in its biggest strike in years yesterday as trade unions grounded flights, cut international rail links and shut sea ports to protest against the new government's austerity plans.

In the climax to a month of industrial action against new Prime Minister Charles Michel's policies, striking workers stopped all public transport while most schools, businesses and government offices shut down.

Pickets also blocked traffic outside the Brussels headquarters of the European Union, a 28-nation bloc that has seen years of protests against austerity aimed at cutting debts that threatened the euro currency.

The Belgian strike came days after a day of protest in Italy against Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's ambitious reform plans, while there have been similar demonstrations in Spain and Greece in recent months.

"There has never been a strike this strong," Marie-Helene Ska, the head of the Christian CSC union, was quoted as saying by the Belga news agency.

Belgian trade unions had launched their movement last month with a march of more than 100,000 people in Brussels, which ended in violent protests injuring dozens of police officers.

Unions went ahead with the general strike after premier Michel's right-of-centre government refused to budge on plans to save €11 billion (HK$106.36 billion) over five years.

His coalition, which took office in October, intends to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 from 2030, scrap plans for a usually automatic cost-of-living raise next year and introduce public sector cutbacks.

Michel, who at 38 is Belgium's youngest prime minister since 1840, heads a coalition of three Flemish-speaking right-leaning parties and his own Francophone liberals.

The government formed five months after elections hoped to calm a nation deeply divided between the richer Flanders and the poorer French-speaking Wallonia, but instead has led to weeks of industrial action.

The last national strike in Belgium was in 2012 against the government of socialist prime minister Elio di Rupo.

Belgian airspace was closed after air traffic controllers joined the strike, preventing flights from landing or taking off from airports in Brussels, Charleroi, Liege, Antwerp and Ostend for 24 hours from early yesterday Hong Kong time.

Some 50,000 passengers have been affected as a total of 600 incoming and outgoing flights have been cancelled at Brussels international airport, spokeswoman Florence Muls said.

"It's a real disaster" for the airports and passengers, Jean-Jacques Cloquet, managing director of Charleroi said, adding there would be a knock-on effect during the busy holiday period.

Eurostar rail services from Brussels to London and trains to Paris, Amsterdam and German city of Cologne were halted until today.

Belgian rail SNCB said domestic inter-city train services were cancelled and trams, buses and metro services had also been cancelled.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Biggest strike in years shuts down much of Belgium

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