After a series of smaller weekly protests, various cities in Belgium saw the biggest strike Monday bringing the country’s public transportation into a standstill.
Hundreds of flights to and from Brussels South Charleroi Airport were cancelled, while major train service providers like SNCB and Eurostar were also forced to stop moving passengers.
Schools and government departments as well as hundreds of factories and business facilities across Belgium were also affected by the strike, which is considered to be the biggest in Belgium in years.
The general strike is aimed at countering Prime Minister Charles Michel government’s new economic plan which, according to the protesters, will raise the cost of living in the European country.
The protests began last month, when nearly 100,000 demonstrators gathered in central Brussels to show their anger at government’s new decisions.
The huge protests ended in heavy clashes between the protesters and police, in which more than 100 police officers were injured.
Michel’s plans also include a raise in the retirement age and a reduction in government’s payments to the public sector. The 38-year-old prime minister, the youngest serving premier in Belgium since 1841, has said that his reform initiative could save more than USD 13 billion for the country in five years.
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