Belgium on Strike: December 15, 2014

"On December 15, 2014, a 24-hour general strike brought Belgium to a standstill as trade unions shutdown airports, trains, ports, highways, shops, factories, schools and government offices." (from the Global Uprising website).

The 15 December strike was the lattest in a serie of strikes and demonstrations against austerity measures in 2014. These were of a scale unknown in Belgium these last decades, and they became increasingly radical, with forced shutdown of workplaces and shops as well as violent confrontations between the dockers of Antwerp and the police (see for exemple here).

Despite the massive mobilisation, none of the demands have been met yet. The unions announced that they will negociate with the bosses' representants until the end of January 2015 before planning further strikes or actions.