Teachers of French-speaking schools across Belgium are striking for 48 hours against the regional government's plans to make cuts and reforms. In Brussels, a large-scale demonstration took place, causing traffic disruptions.
Teacher strikes are no longer rare in Belgium. In November, a one-day strike affected French-speaking schools and earlier this month a historic number of Flemish teachers went on strike. However, it's been 28 years since the education sector last organised two consecutive days of action.
United in a common front, the unions have organised a 48-hour strike across all schools in Wallonia and Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, 27 and 28 January. A large-scale demonstration also took place in Brussels.
Traffic disruptions
At around 10:30, thousands of people gathered at the meeting spot by Brussels-Midi railway station, marching under the slogan "Education is a right for everyone". Police later confirmed that 30,000 people took part in the action.
The march started just after 11:00, and police confirmed all roads included in the protest's planned route have been closed until further notice.
Départ du cortège #manifestation #Bruxelles ➡️ fermeture du parcours dès cet instant Vertrek vd stoet #betoging #Brussel ➡️ sluiting van het parcours vanaf nu https://t.co/rqPq0K57lK
— PolBru (@zpz_polbru) January 27, 2025
At 11:30, the police noted that the Reyers, Tervueren, Cinquantenaire and Loi tunnels towards the city centre were closed off to traffic. These were reopened to traffic around 14:30.
The procession followed the boulevards of the inner ring road, passing in front of the MR headquarters on Avenue de la Toison d'Or. The demonstrators then headed for the Louise roundabout, up to Porte de Namur and via Avenue des Arts to rue du Commerce, where the headquarters of Les Engagés are located.
Finally, they passed by Madou to Place Surlet de Chokier, the seat of the government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The protest ended at Place des Barricades, where the union leaders made speeches at around 13:00.
Brussels public transport operator STIB confirmed to The Brussels Times around noon that its network is not structurally affected by the demonstration. "Because the route largely follows the underground metro line, public transport is not disrupted," spokesperson Laurent Vermeersch said. "Some of the bus lines with stops on the route may be slightly delayed."
Why are teachers striking?
With the strike actions, unions on the one hand aim to oppose the budget cuts in vocational education decided by the MR-Engagés government. Unions calculated this would lead to hundreds of job losses. Education Minister Valérie Glatigney (MR) disputes.
On the other hand, the demonstration opposes the broader reforms announced last summer in the majority agreement on education. Unions argue this undermines the status of teachers
An empty school corridor in Antwerp during the strike on 13 January 2025. Credit: Belga/ Dirk Waem
The vast majority of schools will be affected by the strike because most teachers feel they will be impacted, president of the CGSP Enseignement (socialist trade union), Luc Toussaint, told La Libre. However, it is unclear whether many schools will remain shut.
He feels the actions are effective. "Following our previous demonstrations, we were received by ministers Glatigny. This proves that the movement is being taken seriously. But if we can't change the government's plans, there's no point in talking."
This 48-hour strike will end on Tuesday, with classes resuming as normal on Wednesday.
