Belgian Workers Reject Arizona’s Austerity in 3-Day Strike Wave

Wednesday, November 26, marks the final day of a nationwide wave of strikes and protests against the anti-social policies of Belgium’s so-called Arizona government. Workers in transport and public services, joined by thousands across other sectors, remain outraged by Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s agenda, which includes attacks on pensions, wages, and public services, all while increasing spending on militarization.

Picket lines sprang up across the country, with workers rejecting the government’s plans. Reporting from the strike at the port of Antwerp, Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) General Secretary Peter Mertens wrote: “Workers are furious that the government is coming for their pensions, trying to steal their wage indexation and, on top of that, wants to raise taxes on gas and fuel. ‘No way,’ they’re saying here.”

This week’s strike wave, launched Monday and preceded by a day of action against gender-based violence, builds on previous mobilization. In October, around 140,000 people marched in Brussels to oppose Arizona’s plans. Despite record turnout, De Wever’s administration failed to take the workers’ grievances seriously. “This contempt and lack of respect are unacceptable,” the trade union confederation FGTB-ABVV wrote in its call for the strike. “Today, a historic wave is sweeping across the arid desert landscape of Arizona – a movement calling for a society based on solidarity, equity, and justice.”

Read more: 140,000 march in Brussels against austerity

A key target of unions’ anger is the anticipated cap on wage indexation, the mechanism that ensures incomes are aligned with inflation. On Monday, the government agreed on its 2026 budget, freezing indexation for a large portion of employees and pensioners, placing their livelihoods further at risk. According to the PTB-PVDA, more than one million workers and roughly 800,000 pensioners will be affected. “Ultimately, many workers will lose thousands of euros because of this index theft,” PTB-PVDA President Raoul Hedebouw said earlier this week. “They promised not to touch the index, but that was clearly a lie.”

The party warns that the plan benefits only employers and shareholders, who will be able to keep an estimated €800 million next year simply by not increasing wages. “Less wages to pay means more money for shareholders,” the PTB-PVDA noted. “In total, workers and retired workers are being asked to pay €1.63 billion to finance a new gift to shareholders and to finance the budget deficit.”

At the same time, De Wever and his ministers continue to pour resources into so-called defense, in line with Europe’s militarization drive. Notably, the government has decided to purchase 11 additional F-35 fighter jets on top of a 34-plane set acquired in 2018. The procurement is expected to cost around €6 billion after maintenance and training costs are included, according to the PTB-PVDA. “More weapons do not bring us more security, quite the contrary,” Hedebouw said during an action earlier this month. “Security is built through cooperation, diplomacy, and defensive equipment, not through reckless spending on offensive equipment at the expense of pensions and people’s purchasing power.”

PTB-PVDA President Raoul Hedebouw during an action in Brussels, warning about the impacts of military expenditure on pensions. Source: PTB-PVDA

Instead of the government’s chosen course, trade unions and workers are demanding a radically different approach: taxing the rich, including tech giants, and reviewing wasteful subsidies to corporations.

“Today we are stopping work across the country, in every sector, to say no to the social destruction wrought by the Arizona government, which has taken an even harder line this week with a deeply antisocial budget,” the FGTB-ABVV stated. “We are showing, as workers, who really keeps this country running – and demanding to be heard. Because another kind of politics is possible: one that is fairer, more humane, more united, and focused on the future.”

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch