Belgium’s two biggest unions, the socialist ABVV and the Christian ACV, brought thousands to Brussels on Friday morning to protest the federal government’s austerity plans, marching from Brussels Central station to Brussels South under the slogan “stay out of our pockets.” Police said about 30,000 people attended; ABVV had estimated 50,000. On the sidelines of the main rally, groups clashed with police near Brussels Central, throwing wooden beams, glass bottles and rubbish bins, per The Belgian Times via Al Jazeera; riot police responded with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges. Police said the main union rally was peaceful and the troublemakers were not linked to it.
The anger targets a government budget that unions say threatens purchasing power, the wage indexation system and value-added tax, alongside plans for annualised working time. Some young protesters said they were inspired by France’s student demonstrations and came to talk about education, telling Al Jazeera’s correspondent they feel they are not being listened to. The clashes follow a tense week in Liege, where authorities banned gatherings after students clashed with police and vandalised shops, with more than 200 arrests and dozens of police injured. The ACV separately organised a protest at the governing coalition parties’ headquarters in the capital. Single-sourced to Al Jazeera’s reporting.