MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, local media reported that 7,500 were taking part in the demonstrations, which is a lower turnout than the 10,000 protesters CSC had expected.
"We are more than 10,000 [people], we are 12,000. Our signal today is clear, we’ve had enough," CSC president Luc Hamelinck said, as quoted by the Belga news agency.
The industrial action has led to a halt in public transportation, with bus and train services in the country severely disrupted.
In recent months, numerous anti-austerity protests took place in Belgium. Earlier this month, some 60,000 took part in a national demonstration in Brussels.
Belgium’s government headed by Prime Minister Charles Michel, formed in 2014, has been pushing plans to save 11 billion euros ($13.7 billion) over the next five years and mulled a retirement age increase.
