Belgium faces worsening strikes

BRUSSELS/PARIS. — Belgium faced growing disruption yesterday after public sector staff halted work in protest at the centre-right government’s austerity plans, adding to ongoing strikes on the rail system and in prisons.

Thousands of trade union members took part in peaceful protests in Brussels and other cities during the latest walkout at schools, city transport networks, airports and government offices.

Prime Minister Charles Michel’s government is trying to push through cost-cutting measures including raising the retirement age, but has faced a series of protests since 2014.

“We are here to make the government realise it has taken a bad path and that things could deteriorate,” El-Ibrahimi Ismael, a 51-year-old protest steward from the Christian CSC union told AFP in Brussels. Pickets from trade unions prevented access to several public buildings, Belga news agency reported.

Inter-city rail workers on strike since last week and prison staff who stopped work five weeks ago meanwhile, vowed to continue their walkout in Brussels and the southern French-speaking region of Wallonia.

Train services were badly hit in the south of the country while less than half were operating in Flanders in the north, the SNCB rail operator said.

High-speed international trains to Germany were halted and services to France were also reduced. Public transport was also badly affected in Brussels while there were no buses in the cities of Liege and Namur. Growing worker discontent in Belgium comes amid mounting unrest in neighbouring France over contentious labour reforms.

In France, striking railway workers were set to disrupt transport throughout the country just 11 days before Euro 2016, as President Francois Hollande refused to back down over a labour dispute that has sparked months of protests.

The transport strike adds to problems still being caused by last week’s blockade of fuel depots which left motorists queuing at many petrol stations.

The rolling train strike called by the powerful CGT union is expected to affect around half of national and regional train services. That will be followed by a strike on the Paris Metro network from Thursday and Air France pilots have voted in principle for a lengthy strike at some point in June, when Euro 2016 is in full swing. — AFP.

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