General Strike on the Way in Belgium? English lesson

It took the Belgians a while but they finally woke up and on Thursday Nov. 6th they staged a General Strike.  The strike turned out to be violent, a number of policemen are in the hospital, there were over 100,000 people in the center of Brussels.  They are protesting the right wing government, that there are not enough jobs, and unemployment is high.   I was told that there will be another strike in December.


Read this article and discuss it with your English teacher.
http://ek.fi/blogi/2014/10/27/a-general-strike-on-the-way-in-belgium/

Key Terms
little publicity
 coalition
ambitious reforms
programme- UK spelling , USA spelling program
paralyzed.
competences



Questions
What is the strike about?
Why did it take so long for a government to form?
What is the main aim of the government?
Why does the government want to raise the retirement age?
Which competences should be transferred to the regions?
Which ones should be kept for the Federal government?
What is significant about the fact that the new government does not include socialists?
Do you think that Charles Michel will be able to negotiate with the strikers?
What was his last job?
What experience does he have in government?



Lesson Plan  by Rachael Alice Orbach - Professional English teacher