Belgian firemen protest over pension reform

Belgian firemen spray water and foam at a ministry building in Brussels - in protest over government plans to reform their pensions.
The action's part of a national 24 hour strike by the country's public sector workers.
Belgium's new government is trying to raise the proper retirement age - currently 65 but actually averaging 59 years - as part of a tough budget plan to reduce the public sector deficit to below the EU limit.
Firemen are particularly angry with the proposal as they say it ignores the needs of professionals with particularly demanding jobs to retire early.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) FIREMAN NICOLAS JALET, SAYING:
"We are here to show our dissatisfaction and also to remind them that we give a service to the population and that we risk our lives each time we go on a shift, and that the least they can do is show a bit of respect to our profession."
The strike is the second show of union opposition to the two-week-old government's cuts after some 50,000 Belgians took to the streets in early December.
Sunita Rappai, Retures