Belgian workers bring up to 75,000 to Brussels in a May national strike as De Wever's €23bn austerity package holds

Summary

Belgium's three main union confederations staged a national strike on 12 May 2026, drawing between 40,000 and 75,000 workers to the streets of Brussels and halting aviation and public transport across the country. The May action was the latest in a campaign that began in November 2025 with a three-day general strike described as Belgium's largest industrial action in years. A March 12 national march drew approximately 100,000. Brussels Airport cancelled more than 325 departures, over half of scheduled services; Brussels South Charleroi Airport cancelled all 180 flights that day, the ninth aviation disruption traced to the union campaign since January 2025. The target throughout has been the Arizona coalition government's roughly €23bn austerity package, assembled under Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) and including a "pension malus" penalty on early retirement, a mandatory retirement age of 67, reduced unemployment benefit duration, and curtailed collective bargaining rights. As of July 2026, the government has made no substantive concessions.

The split

All three confederations, CSC/ACV (Christian workers), FGTB/ABVV (socialist), and CGSLB/ACLVB (liberal), have remained united throughout the campaign, an unusual alignment. CGSLB chair Gert Truyens accused the government of showing "total disregard" for social dialogue by "unilaterally imposing things without discussing them with the trade unions and employers." FGTB general secretary Selena Carbonero Fernandez framed the pension malus as "a punishment for people who can't work until 67," pointing to physically demanding occupations. The De Wever government has held its position, citing EU deficit-reduction commitments and demographic pressure from an ageing population. The Arizona coalition's junior partners, MR, CD&V, Open VLD, and Les Engagés, have publicly backed the package despite internal pressures on the francophone centre parties.

By the numbers

• 75,000, union estimate of Brussels marchers on 12 May 2026 (police estimate: 40,000)
• 100,000, marchers at the 12 March 2026 national action
• 3, days Belgium was halted by the November 2025 general strike
• 9, aviation disruptions at Belgian airports since January 2025 linked to the campaign
• 325+, Brussels Airport flight cancellations on 12 May 2026
• €23bn, approximate scale of the Arizona coalition's five-year austerity package
• 67, mandatory retirement age the government proposes to enforce by 2030

Why it matters

The Belgian strike campaign tests whether sustained industrial action can reverse an austerity programme imposed by a government with a stable parliamentary coalition and EU fiscal backing. If the government holds, it suggests the Arizona model, combining deep structural welfare reform with tight coalition discipline, can withstand even repeated general strikes. If it yields, it becomes a reference point for union movements across EU member states facing similar demographic and fiscal arguments. The aviation disruptions have imposed measurable costs on Belgium's position as a European hub.

What to watch

• Whether a new strike date is called for summer or autumn 2026, and whether turnout holds.
• Whether any coalition partner negotiates separate terms on the pension malus or wage indexation with unions.
• Whether the EU's deficit procedure for Belgium accelerates, adding external pressure on the government's position.
• Whether the campaign spreads to the healthcare or education sectors, which have so far remained partially outside it.