Nearly 1 lakh Belgians protest govt’s plans to cut social services to reduce debt

Brussels: Close to 100,000 protesters thronged the centre of Brussels on Thursday while airports and public transport were largely paralysed as trade unions took their ire to the streets over drastic plans of the new centre-right government to revamp some of the foundations on which the nation’s

welfare state was built.

Reductions in pensions and cuts for public service personnel were central themes as the country’s three main unions joined hands to confront the new government of Prime Minister Bart De Wever, whose programme to take on massive government debt includes measures that weigh heavy on the lower-income working classes. “The strongest shoulders have to carry the heaviest load,” said Bert Engelaar, secretary general of the Socialist trade union. “The wealthiest will have to contribute more and that is not at all the case today.”

Beyond the protests, Brussels international airport was closed down for departures and buses and trams were largely left idle.

The themes reverberate all around Europe where a sluggish economy is driving governments to cut into social privileges that were long held sacrosanct. It holds especially true for Belgium, a nation that has debt totalling just over 100 per cent of GDP, putting it among the worst in the 27-nation EU.Agencies