A nationwide
strike in Belgium has brought rail, road and air transport to a
standstill and seen protesters tried to hurl eggs and fireworks at
government offices.
The
24 hour strike is the country's first general strike since 2005 and
comes in the wake of a new government's plans to save £8.7billion in the
next five years.
The strike
forced hundreds of factories and offices to shut. Around 600 flights
were grounded at Brussels Airport today and Eurostar cancelled all
Brussels-bound trains in France.
Most
trains on the high-speed Thalys link line between Paris and Brussels
were also cancelled, with local bus, tram and metro services also
affected.
Unions are
opposing a decision by Prime Minister Charles Michel - Belgium's new
leader - to scrap a cost-of-living wage next year. Belgian law currently
mandates that wage rise at the same pace as inflation.
Charles Michel was sworn in as prime minister in
October. The 38-year-old French-speaking liberal is Belgium's youngest
leader since 1841.
They are also protesting against public sector cutbacks and plans to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67.
These reforms are part of a plan to plug the country's budget deficit, which stands at 3 per cent of GDP for 2014
A Belgian worker stands next to a placard reading 'Factory on strike'
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