Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Brussels, Belgium as part of a national strike over government reforms and spending cuts.
Belgium’s three big unions are protesting over pensions and other measures by Prime Minister Bart de Wever’s centre-right government aimed at cutting the budget deficit.
Union leaders said that they are protesting against pensions reforms, plans to reduce night-working bonuses and protect Belgium’s automatic indexation of wages to prices.
A key issue for the unions is the government’s plan to increase the number of days Belgians work per year before they can receive their pensions, as well as the end of special schemes for several sectors including military and railway workers.
Teachers who work for the Brussels-Wallonia government, which is responsible for overseeing education policy in the French regions, are also on strike over money-saving proposals, including a two-hour increase in the secondary school working week.
The Belgian General Federation of Labour (FGTB) union, which claims 1.4m members in a country of 11.8m, is protesting against planned pension reforms that would mean people would lose some money if they took early retirement at the age of 62.
Strikes were also taking place in all Belgian prisons. According to a Belgian news agency, police officers have been called in to ensure security and basic needs are met, while the Red Cross is helping to distribute meals to prisoners.
Belgian police reported arrests after small fires were started near the small Brussels ring road.
Riot police also had to intervene during demonstrations in the city centre, as some masked protesters clashed with the authorities.
Brussels Strike Hits Public Transport, Airports and Ships
This latest strike has resulted in severe delays and cancellations of services affecting tens of thousands of travellers across the country.
All departing flights have been grounded at Brussels South Charleroi Airport and Brussels Airport in Zaventem, while all arriving flights at Charleroi have been cancelled.
Although trains were running, most buses, trams and underground trains in the capital ground to a halt.
According to Belgium’s MDK maritime and coastal services, shipping at Europe’s second biggest port Antwerp was suspended until Wednesday because of understaffing, and more than 100 ships waited in the North Sea for permission to dock at three ports.
Disruptions to public services such as rubbish collection were announced ahead of the strike.
Belgium has experienced several national and sectoral strikes since a new right-leaning government took office in February pledging to cut spending, in order to curb the country’s spiralling debt.
A major speech where Belgium’s Prime Minister, Bart De Wever will set out his policy priorities for the year ahead, which was due today, Tuesday, October 14, 2025, has been delayed by one week, as his five-party government has so far failed to find agreement on €10bn spending cuts or new revenues.
De Wever’s coalition government on Monday failed to reach a budget agreement.
Belgium’s budget deficit stood at 4.5% at the end of 2024, while its debt totals more than 100% of its GDP. This breaches EU rules, which says member states should keep their budget deficit below 3% and debt ratio at under 60% of GDP.
Belgium is required by EU law to reduce its government deficit and debt, while also meeting a NATO pledge to raise defence spending.
The nationwide strike underscores growing frustration across Belgium as workers and unions push back against what they see as austerity-driven reforms threatening wages, pensions, and social protections.
With the strike, the government faces mounting pressure to revisit its economic agenda and engage in fresh negotiations to avert further unrest.
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