Protest marches and political rallies mark Labour Day
Protestors marched against the federal government and political parties held rallies on Thursday, Labour Day.
In Brussels, some 300 people gathered at Place Poelaert, organised by the socialist public sector union CGSP, to protest against the “anti-social policies” of the coalition. The march passed the headquarters of francophone liberal party MR, Flemish socialists Vooruit, the Federation of Belgian Enterprises and the FGTB union.
Addressing the protestors in the capital, Raoul Hedebouw, leader of the far-left PVDA/PTB, called on the government to reverse course on its pension and labour market reform plans. The coalition is “the government of the super-rich, we can make it back down”, he said.
Strike action
He criticised Flemish socialists Vooruit, the only left-wing party in the coalition. “Without Vooruit’s votes, there would be no pension cuts, no crackdown on the unemployed, no crackdown on the long-term sick, no quibbling over the index,” he said. “Vooruit is not slowing down social destruction, it is at the wheel.”
Trade unions across the country took part in a general strike on Tuesday, the latest in a series of protest actions since the formation of the federal coalition in February. Hedebouw called for the industrial action to continue.
The leader of Flemish green party Groen, Bart Dhondt, also spoke up in favour of the recent protests and called on all progressives to stand up in the fight for social justice. “Even with socialists in government, our labour rights are under pressure,” he said.
“1 May is more than ever a day of struggle. Especially for women who work part-time, for teachers and civil servants, for people who drop out because the work becomes too hard, and for all those who see their accrued pensions reduced.”
Francophone socialist party PS broke with tradition and made no statement on Labour Day itself. In a speech the day before, leader Paul Magnette did not mention sister party Vooruit but attacked the government’s policies.
He said the opposition had the ability to force the governments formed after the last elections to back down and that some softening had already been observed, in the calculation of pensions and in the time limit on unemployment benefits. “We will make them back down,” he said.
Fiscal crisis
Valerie Van Peel, the new leader of Flemish conservatives N-VA, posted a video on social media backing the coalition led by prime minister and party colleague Bart De Wever. She said Belgium was facing a fiscal crisis and governments had to make tough decisions.
“I really understand that some of those decisions can make people angry or worried,” she said. “But all the parties who have the courage today to join us in supporting the necessary reforms deserve your praise, not boos. Handing out money is so easy. Doing what needs to be done is a lot less so.”
Protestors in Brussels on Labour Day, 1 May 2025 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / BELGA VIDEO LOU LAMPAERT
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