Nationwide strike in Belgium to say "no" to austerity

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Belgian workers across the country are expected to come out en masse this Monday 15 December for the nationwide strike against the “anti-social” measures announced by the new centre-right federal government.

It is the culmination of a month and a half of trade union actions and three weeks of rotating strikes across the various regions of the country.

The stream of budget cut announcements has been constant since the new government was sworn in on 11 October and the outrage is growing.

With its cost-cutting agenda set to hit everything from health and unemployment benefits to culture and purchasing power, the coalition led by the French-speaking liberal Charles Michel, and dominated by Flemish nationalists from the separatist N-VA party, soon made enemies within the trade union movement and beyond.

The strikers’ key focus is the measures targeting employment and purchasing power.

Indexation, a mechanism used to keep wages and social benefits in line with the cost of living, which allows citizens to maintain a decent level of purchasing power, especially in times of crisis, is going to be suspended for a year. It is considered to be a "handicap" for companies.

It is thanks to the index that Belgium had managed to avoid a fall in purchasing power, unlike most other EU countries.

While the government insists that the ’index jump’ will be ’social’ as it will spare the smallest incomes, Belgium’s workers, and above all its trade unions, are by no means convinced.

Twenty-three year old Céline, who recently embarked on her career as a teacher, told Equal Times about her concerns and her reasons for joining the strike despite losing a day’s pay:

"On 8 December, I was unable to get to work because of the public transport problem, but this Monday I am striking because I’m worried about the index jump and the cost of living, which is constantly rising. The index jump penalises the workers!"

"I understand that we are going to have to work longer because life expectancy is rising, but I don’t agree with having to work more to earn less," she adds.

Workers of all ages are anxious about the plans to raise the working age to 67, especially those in physically demanding jobs.

"I understand that the pension age has to be raised but I’m worried all the same, because I’ve only just started to work and it scares me to think about what age I’ll be working till. As teachers, we have to work with large classes, and class sizes are going to keep on growing. I can hardly imagine myself before a class of 25 children at the age of 65."

 

Compulsory community service for the unemployed

Part-time workers, older workers and those receiving benefits are also targeted by the reforms of the new government, reforms that "will only widen inequalities", according to Belgium’s trade unions.

Time limits are to be placed on the supplementary benefits received by certain part-time workers, a measure that will hit the large majority of women in this category, 88% according to the Green opposition party, Ecolo.

The decision to introduce degressive unemployment benefits had already been taken under the previous administration, creating outrage among the trade unions, but this government is going even further, introducing a highly controversial measure: two half days of community service a week for unemployed workers that have been receiving benefits for two years, and a possible suspension of benefits for any worker refusing the "offer", as indicated in the government agreement.

It is a reform that has sparked indignation, and not only among the left. A study by the Institute of Economic and Social Research of the UCL (Catholic University of Leuven) already denounced the adverse effects of such a measure in September.

Whilst massive support is expected for this Monday’s strike, a more than inconsequential part of Belgian society is strongly opposed to it.

Evidence of this is the Facebook page dedicated to those who will be going to work this 15 December, which has received over 34,000 ’likes’ and wide coverage in the Belgian media.

Created by businessman Nicolas Degrave, it mainly groups employers or self-employed workers who feel that the strikes are "taking work hostage" and are harmful to economic growth.

For those opposed to the strike, the government should be "given a chance to prove itself", as Nicolas Degrave has commented on the Facebook page and in the media.

"Pro-strike" advocates wasted no time in providing a virtual response to this argument, through Facebook pages and Twitter, where the debate between the two sides is growing.

But this wrangling, laments the young teacher at the end of the interview, "is not the way to make our voice heard by the government".

 

This article has been translated from French.