Reporting from Brussels, News Editor Beth Clifford writes about Belgium’s national strike against government austerity reforms, causing flight cancellations and disruptions to public transport.
Between 80,000 to 100,000 people took to the streets in Belgium’s capital city of Brussels on Thursday, 12 March as trade unions organised a national strike protesting austerity measures introduced by Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s government. This demonstration takes place following three days of strikes by rail workers across the country.
Police estimate roughly 80,000 people turned out to protest, while some trade unions state the figure was over 100,000. Only two out of the four metro lines in Brussels were running and at reduced frequency. At Brussels Airport, 131 arriving flights and all departing flights were cancelled, affecting around 42,500 people while Brussels South Charleroi Airport came to a complete standstill. Closures to tunnels and blockading of streets in Brussels diverted road users across the city, impacting traffic. Ships were also delayed in entering and exiting from Belgian ports due to the strikes.
Trade unions, political parties and organisations gathered in the capital city to denounce the austerity policies recently put forward by the Belgian government. These policies include pension reform, whereby, Belgians will only be able to receive a full pension if they take retirement at the age of 67, but if they choose to retire at an earlier stage without having worked enough, they will be penalised and lose a portion of of their pension. Opponents to such a measure have argued that this would disproportionately affect women who are more likely to work part-time and/or flexible working hours than their male counterparts.
Last year, the Belgian parliament passed through another unpopular reform that places a cap on unemployment benefits at two years, after which, recipients will receive a much lower social welfare payment. Outrage has also been expressed against the government for the freezing of wage indexation, where workers’ wages will not adjust or rise in line with inflation and the cost of living. De Wever addressed parliament on the day of the national strike, promising that his government will not back down to protesters.
“Outrage has also been expressed against the government for the freezing of wage indexation, where workers’ wages will not adjust or rise in line with inflation and the cost of living."
In just over a year since Bart De Wever, leader of the Flemish right-wing party New Flemish Alliance, took office in February 2025 as Prime Minister and leader of the federal government of Belgium, his proposals and reforms have faced consistent backlash from civil society and workers. 2025 saw some of Belgium’s largest demonstrations against government policies, with one protest on 14 October said to have gathered roughly 140,000 individuals.
Protests against unfair wages and working conditions are not just occurring in Belgium however, with workers going on strike in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy during March. In the Netherlands, civil servants went on strike on 3 March as government spending cuts have led to their wages stagnating, reducing their relative spending power as inflation rises. In Berlin Airport on 18 March, trade union organisers held a strike over an ongoing pay dispute with airport management as well as aiming to improve working conditions, halting around 57,000 passengers. On the same day as Berlin’s Airport strike, baggage handling workers in Italy’s Milan Malpensa Airport and Milan Linate Airport staged a walk out for 24 hours.