Belgium's Public Sector Workers Stage Nationwide Strike

Belgium's public sector workers stage nationwide strike

BRUSSELS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Mar, 2023 ) --:Belgium's public sector workers are holding a nationwide strike on Friday to protest against the alleged underfunding and understaffing of public services.

The unions, which have formed a common front, are demanding more resources, more staff, a strengthening of the pension system and an increase in purchasing power.

The strike is the culmination of months of demonstrations by the non-profit sector, including fire brigades, the police and the students.

Friday's strike strongly disrupted the public transport networks. Only one metro line is running in Brussels.

The national rail operator SNCB said that only one in three trains were running on Friday. Brussels Airport was not affected by the strike action, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday.

"A strike is always an admission of failure. There are a series of demands that have not yet been met," the country's Minister of the Economy and Employment Pierre-Yves Dermagne told national broadcaster LN24.