Belgians protest over living costs.10/6/2008 4:32:19 PM International train services have been suspended and work at government offices has ground to a halt as thousands of workers in Belgium protested against rising living costs. Public sector services in Brussels, the Belgian capital, were worst affected with many schools, museums and libraries closed, a pattern repeated in other Belgian cities and towns. Belgian trade unions said employees in both public services Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing private provision of services. and private industry were equally responsive in participating in the strike. Nearly all public transport in Brussels was grounded from late on Sunday, with most tramlines cancelled and very few underground metro trains running. "The day of action is a success," the Christian union federation (CSC) said in a statement. Eurostar cancelled In the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of the financial crisis sweeping through Europe, Eurostar trains to London and Paris as well as high-speed Thalys services to France, Germany and the Netherlands were suspended. Rail services were also stopped in the southern region of Wallonia and were infrequent in Flanders to the north. Road traffic in the capital was also lighter than normal, with many non-strikers opting to take the day off. In Belgium's second city of Antwerp, creches, museums and libraries were closed while in Bruges all public offices remained shut. Charleroi and Liege liege In European feudal society, an unconditional bond between a man and his overlord. Thus, if a tenant held estates from various overlords, his obligations to his liege lord, to whom he had paid “liege homage,” were greater than his obligations to the other in the southern region of Wallonia were also affected. 'Purchasing power' The strike action took place the day after French bank BNP Paribas took a controlling interest controlling interest The ownership of a quantity of outstanding corporate stock sufficient to control the actions of the firm. Controlling interest often involves ownership of significantly less than 51% of a firm's outstanding stock because many owners fail in Belgium's largest banking group Fortis, which has been subject to three different bailout packages in a week. Members of the liberal CGSLB CGSLB Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique union took to the streets outside the Brussels stock exchange Brussels Stock Exchange (BSE) Stock exchange that handles the majority of securities transactions in Belgium. distributing leaflets saying "purchasing power Purchasing Power 1. The value of a currency expressed in terms of the amount of goods or services that one unit of money can buy. Purchasing power is important because, all else being equal, inflation decreases the amount of goods or services you'd be able to purchase. 2. , what's left? Peanuts". "The message is clear," said Philippe Vandenabeele, the union's secretary general. "We are calling for better purchasing power for workers. There aren't the reserves left and it's time to think now of Mrs Everywoman rather than thinking of the banks." Thierry Bodson, the general secretary of the Wallonia wing of the FGTB FGTB Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique , one of the country's biggest trade unions, told local radio that one of the strikers' key demands was a reduction in energy costs via lower consumption tax on oil, gas and heating fuel. While the level of protest differed from region to region, meaning the action fell short of a general strike, Bodson recalled that in June about 100,000 people had taken to the streets to protest against the steep rise in living costs. In September, consumer price inflation in Belgium hit 5.46 per cent. Aljazeera.net 2003 - 2008 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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