Public sector unions have called a strike in Brussels on Tuesday, bringing together workers from diverse municipal public services.
The strike coincides with both International Public Services Day and a Europe-wide mobilisation organised under the "#PublicServicesEmergency" campaign, which trade unions say reflects a crisis affecting public services across the bloc.
Workers from public hospitals, disability services, family support organisations, mental health centres, homeless shelters, care homes, nurseries, schools, public welfare centres (CPAS) and municipal administrations are expected to take part in the Brussels strike.
According to the unions, public services in the capital are facing mounting pressure due to chronic staff shortages, increasing workloads, declining job attractiveness and deteriorating working conditions.
Particular concern has been raised over plans to cut around 40 jobs in the municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean as part of budget-saving measures.
The unions have also voiced concerns about ongoing discussions to consolidate several of Brussels' major public hospitals, including the merger project involving the Hôpitaux Iris Sud, CHU Saint-Pierre and the Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles (HUB).
They argue that, amid staff shortages and financial pressures, such reforms risk undermining access to quality local healthcare and threatening the future role of public hospitals.
The Brussels action forms part of a coordinated European day of mobilisation spanning Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Czechia, Lithuania and Albania.
According to European Federation of Public Service Unions, EPSU, years of austerity and underinvestment have left public services struggling to meet growing demand.
"Workers are being asked to do more with less, while communities face longer waits, reduced access and services struggling to cope," said EPSU General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan in a statement. He urged governments and EU institutions to "stop austerity" and invest in public services, staffing and wages.
In Brussels, the unions say residents "deserve much better" and are calling for structural refinancing of public services and the non-profit sector, an end to job cuts, increased staffing and investment, respect for existing social agreements and a renewed commitment to social dialogue.
The demonstration will begin at 09:00 outside the Petit Château reception centre on Boulevard du Neuvième de Ligne, with marchers setting off at 10:00.
The route will take participants past ministries responsible for social integration and public health, as well as employment agency Actiris and the French Community Commission (Cocof), before continuing towards the federal and Brussels regional government offices. The march is expected to conclude at Place de la Monnaie around midday.
An additional action will take place outside the Botanic Tower at around 11:00.
