Grève Générale

Something unique that I have experienced during my time in Belgium are strikes. Periodically strikes with occur throughout the country for various reasons. However, on January 30, 2011 Belgium experienced a "General Strike," which halted all public transportation, schools, and major production companies throughout the country. But why would a country choose to shut down almost completely for one entire day? Unions called the general strike, Belgium's first since 1993, over government plans to raise the retirement age along with other measures designed to save 11.3 billion euros.

"We are angry because they want to attack our pensions," said Philippe Dubois, a railway union member outside Brussels' Midi station. "We want to make some noise."

One side of the argument is saying that they should raise the taxes so that people are paying to cover up the costs in order to continue living the lives that they currently have despite the changing conditions. Like many countries currently in the European Union, Belgium is struggling to control its budget, and unions are angry over plans to cut spending and raise taxes. The battle lines are being drawn for that debate. The Socialists saying the rich should bear a greater burden, while the pro-business Liberals are arguing higher taxes would push the country into recession and it is in fact the government spending that should be taking more cuts. With the current economic crisis that has hit the European Union hard it becomes more and more evident how the countries in the EU are interdependent on each other. One of the problems that some see happening is that the wealthier countries are angered by the fact that they are being called in to come to the aid to the countries (such as Ireland, Portugal and Greece) who are struggling. They do not want to take some of the harder hits to their country because they are prospering while others are falling into great debt.

General strike in Belgium as EU leaders arrive in Brussels | euronews, world news

At the same time Belgium has it's own ideas for how the EU can escape the financial crisis, which plagues the area. The three main unions have called for efforts to reinvigorate the European economy by centering on taxing multinationals and boosting public investment instead of cutting down on public services and making a pension reform that forces people to work longer and lowering payments in certain cases.



Strikes are an interesting part of the culture and happen more frequently here than I have experienced in America. One of the strikes that comes to mind in the United States was the writers strike in 2007-2008 however that strike lasted until there were changes made to the system and a negotiation was reached. In Belgium the strikes are more frequent, generally one day, and the public is aware that they will happen before they arrive. I remember as an eighth grader not being aware that there was a writer's strike, just that I thought it was strange that there were so many reality TV shows that had appeared on the television. Meanwhile in Belgium it is more clear, and many more people know about the strikes. As a whole I find that the young people are more informed about the politics of their country and the countries surrounding their area.