By Inti Landauro
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A general strike held in Belgium on Tuesday grounded most airplanes at the two main airports and disrupted public transport in Brussels.
The strike was the latest in a series of protests this year against the government’s proposals to reform pensions and the labour market.
All flights due to depart from Brussels International Airport and about half of those scheduled to land were cancelled as staff from the security firm providing X-ray screening walked out on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the airport said.
All flights were cancelled at the country’s second largest airport, in Charleroi, 60 km (40 miles) south of Brussels, according to its website.
Thousands of people travelled to Brussels’ Gare du Nord train station to join a broad demonstration that will cross the city centre.
Most of the Brussels underground train, bus and tram lines were cut as a result of the strike, public transport operator STIB said in a post on social media platform X. Traffic in the city was further disrupted early on Tuesday by fires set on some of its big boulevards, the police said. Local media reported that police arrested several protesters.
The strikers led by the country’s main unions and backed by activist groups such as Greenpeace and Oxfam are opposing the ruling federal coalition led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever which announced a series of reforms seeking to cut government spending.
“What really mobilises us are pensions,” Thierry Bodson, leader of the FGTB union, said on the French-language state radio station RTBF on Tuesday. Bodson added that the reform would not only reduce income for future retirees but also introduce uncertainty by changing how state pensions are calculated.
FGTB has more than 1.5 million members, according to its website.
De Wever, from the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), became prime minister in February and now heads a predominantly right-wing coalition. He has pledged to reduce deficits without raising taxes but is facing challenges in finalising next year’s budget.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Olivier Holmey)
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