Mass Strike In Belgium Makes Airport Stop Operating, Public Transportation Chaotic To Balau

UNSPLASH/REisetopia ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The mass strike that was held in Belgium on Tuesday left most of the aircraft at the two main airports unoperating and disrupting public transportation in Brussels.

This strike is the latest in a series of protests this year against the government's proposal to reform pension funds and labor markets.

All flights scheduled to depart from Brussels International Airport and about half of scheduled flights landed were canceled as staff from the security firm providing X-ray checks were out of work on Tuesday, October 14.

All flights were canceled at the country's second-largest airport, in Charleroi, 60 km (40 miles) south of Brussels, according to its website.

Thousands of people traveled to the Gare du Nord train station in Brussels to join a major demonstration that would cross the city center.

Most of Brussels' subway, bus, and tram lines were cut off due to the strike, the STIB public transport operator said.

Traffic in the city was increasingly disrupted on Tuesday morning by fires that broke out on several of its main highways, police said. Local media reported police arrested several protesters.

The demonstrators led by major trade unions in the country and backed by activist groups such as Greenpeace and Oxfam oppose the ruling federal coalition led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who announced a series of reforms aimed at cutting government spending.

"What really mobilizes us is retirement," said Thierry Bodson, leader of the FGTB union, at the French-speaking government radio station RTBF.

Bodson said the reform would not only reduce retirees' income in the future, but also create uncertainty by changing the way the country's retirement tally works.

FGTB has more than 1.5 million members, according to its website.

De Wever, of the nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), became prime minister in February and now leads a far-right-dominated coalition.

He once promised to reduce the deficit without raising taxes, but faces challenges in completing next year's budget.