Belgium Strike Day: Unions Warn Over Flemish Budget

Belgian public services ground to a near-halt on Monday 12 October 2026 as the socialist public-sector union ACOD (part of ABVV/FGTB) held a one-day strike against the Flemish government’s 2027 budget, while warning the federal government that heavier action lies ahead. Rail operator NMBS cancelled three in ten intercity trains, the Flemish bus and tram network De Lijn dropped roughly four in ten services, and the public broadcaster VRT slashed its output to archive programmes and music, according to VRT NWS.

Why the strike is happening

The walkout targets the savings package unveiled by Flanders’ N-VA-led government, headed by Minister-President Matthias Diependaele, which seeks a balanced budget with savings in the region of 1.5 to 2 billion euros. The government insists the budget must be put in order and that everyone should contribute. “De begroting moet op orde, dus moet iedereen zijn deel doen” (“The budget must be put in order, so everyone must do their part”), Flemish Media Minister Cieltje Van Achter said in early October.

Union leaders frame the dispute in starker terms. ACOD chairman Uwe Rochus said the strike was aimed at the underfunding of public services and looming measures such as a fresh attack on wage indexation or a higher VAT. “Na de Vlaamse begroting hebben we al een serieuze bui gekregen. Nu verwachten we een zware El Nino,” he said — “After the Flemish budget we already got a serious rainstorm. Now we expect a heavy El Niño.”

What the savings touch

The measures reach well beyond public-sector pay. According to an analysis by Beweging.net, the Christian-movement network, the government plans to abolish the birth premium from the second child, limit child benefits to age 23 rather than 25 for students, end the Groeipakket immediately after graduation, and freeze age supplements for children born before 2019. Employment policy faces an additional 91 million euros in savings on VDAB and job programmes, on top of earlier cuts, while benefits are trimmed for jobseekers guided by local welfare centres (OCMWs).

Mobility is also affected: the planned expansion at De Lijn is halved and Hoppin points are put on hold. Local authorities see the indexation of the municipal fund capped at 1 percent in 2027 and 2 percent in 2028, down from 3.5 percent fixed at the start of the legislature. Roughly half a billion euros is being cut from subsidies, with socio-cultural adult work hit by a further 7.1 percent reduction and climate and nature organisations also losing funding. A higher tax on online gambling, set to rise to 15 percent, is expected to yield 29 million euros. Education is largely spared.

Beweging.net chair Julie Hendrickx Devos criticised the package as socially unjust. “Saneren is altijd moeilijk… Maar het geheel voldoet niet aan onze toets voor een rechtvaardig pakket,” she said, arguing the effort is not shared equally or by ability to pay, and that civil society is again a target.

The VRT dispute

The strike hit the public broadcaster hard. VRT 1 and VRT Canvas carried only archive programmes, shortened news bulletins and a single Terzake broadcast, with Ketnet showing pre-programmed content; radio networks played music, with Radio 1 airing De Ochtend from 7 to 9am and hourly news but no regional coverage. Detailed schedule impacts were outlined in a VRT NWS explainer.

VRT staff face roughly 10 million euros in additional savings, described by ACOD VRT representative Joke Kerkhofs as “de besparing te veel” (“the cut too many”). “De directie heeft een beheersovereenkomst onderhandeld met de Vlaamse regering, maar blijkbaar is dat een vodje papier,” she said — the management agreement with the Flemish government is “a scrap of paper.” She added that the broadcaster cannot make its mandate without resources, calling it “een enorm probleem voor de democratie” (“a huge problem for democracy”) because public information should not sit behind a paywall. The united VRT union front announced it would take its case to Minister Van Achter’s office, together with management and other cultural-sector workers, to renegotiate the cuts.

A warning aimed at the federal level

The strike also serves as a signal to Belgium’s federal government, which is locked in its own budget crisis. Led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA), the federal coalition is seeking around 10 billion euros to align the budget with European spending norms by 2029, with a proposed VAT rise from 21 to 22 percent the main sticking point — resisted by MR and its leader Georges-Louis Bouchez. By 11–12 October, De Wever had postponed his State of the Union address for the second year running and said he would not accept a provisional twelfths scenario.

A split labour movement

Not all unions joined the action. The Christian union ACV Openbare Diensten declined to strike, instead running an awareness campaign called “Onmisbaar Openbaar” at three locations in the Kempen — Turnhout, Geel and Herentals — arguing for more resources and looking at the revenue side rather than only cuts. “De openbare sector komt almaar meer onder druk te staan… Nog meer besparingen op personeel zijn uit de boze,” ACV spokesperson Joris Nevelsteen told RTV.

What’s next

The disruption extended beyond transport and broadcasting to education, where ACOD Onderwijs filed a strike notice, as well as local authorities, childcare, waste collection — with Net Brussel asking residents not to put out rubbish bags — prisons, closed centres and postal operator Bpost. A decision on further union action is scheduled for 9 November 2026. With the federal budget deadlock unresolved and the Flemish package only now taking effect, the coming weeks will test whether the government’s insistence on shared sacrifice can hold against a union movement warning that its patience has run out.