[Blog] Belgium: Fire-fighters surround and block centre of Brussels

They surprised everyone, in particular the government that was meeting to discuss the new budget cuts. Fed up with meaningless promises and angered by the dangerously low staff levels, fire-fighters from the south of Belgium and Brussels decided to go for it. Unannounced, a few hundred fire-fighters with some 30 trucks parked themselves outside the Prime Minister’s office and the Belgian parliament... and then the fun began!

The government was meeting at the PM’s office to decide on new austerity measures and finalise the new budget. They closed off the “neutral zone” and the most important roads leading to the centre of the city. Parliament, the PM’s office and the Royal Palace are located in what the police describe as this neutral zone. This is an area of the city and the country where no demonstrations are ever supposed to take place. “Neutral zone” is indeed an absurd name for an area where most of the political decisions are taken. But remember, this is Belgium…

The fire-fighters, supported by their unions and professional organisations, are demanding an extra €75 million from the government so as to increase the number of staff to acceptable security levels. Officially those levels have remained the same for the past half century. In these 50 years the number of interventions the fire-fighters have to make has doubled. This gives you an idea of the urgent needs of the fire-fighters.

The action strategy of the fire-fighters was clear and straightforward: we continue to surround the neutral zone and block the traffic as long as is necessary. The next step in this plan would be a general strike and the blocking of the railway stations and the national airports. Meanwhile the lads were spraying water and foam on a paralysed police force. Tyres were also set on fire to block the traffic. This attracted the attention of the media nationally and beyond.

The first meeting between the fire-fighters and the Minister of the Interior was disappointing. She would not move an inch; neither would the protesting fire-fighters. So they decided to strengthen their blockade. More fire-fighters came down to Brussels to replace those who had been in action already for a whole day. In spite of the annoying effect for car drivers of blocking the centre of town, seeing fire-fighters struggling to increase the level of staff generates natural sympathy from the general public. And the Socialist-Liberal-Christian Democratic government is fully aware of this.

In the afternoon the representatives of the Socialist Railway Workers’ Union in Brussels also proposed their help and “know-how” to block the train stations if necessary… The proximity of the next elections in 2014 must also have made the government nervous. Despite a general calm on the industrial front (with some notable exceptions) the government fear sudden shifts in the mood of the workers. Discontent, fear and frustration dominates a lot of workplaces, combined with a feeling of impotence in the face of social deterioration. This can rapidly change; and sometimes all it needs is just a spark to light the prairie.

The traffic jam in Brussels was more than ever a real hell that evening. As the fire-fighters seemed quite determined, and with the threat of the railway workers helping them to block the country, the Minister of the Interior invited the union reps for a new round of discussions. It seemed that the Minister was ready to give in, at least partially to their demands, with the promise of 1200 extra fire-fighters to be recruited in the next few years, and 400 of these almost immediately in 2014. “90% of our demands have been met” declared one of the fire-fighters. But if the promises of the Minister prove to be empty the fire-fighters threatened they would “be back”.

The bold and determined action of the fire-fighters has captured the imagination of a lot of workers who have been unsuccessfully struggling against cuts and for their demands to be met in the last few years. Many will consider the way the fire-fighters have struggled as the way forward. They will contrast this with the strategy of passivity and demobilisation of most of the union leaders in Belgium and in Europe. Just imagine what a united movement of workers from all industries and services could achieve if enthused by a straightforward action strategy of strikes, blockades, etc. Add to this, democratic methods of participation and decision making, a socialist alternative and an unwavering leadership at all levels and, yes, the overthrow of capitalism would not be so far away.

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