Trade unions protest in Brussels on Monday for more purchasing power: De Lijn and STIB services disrupted | Inland

Unions are campaigning for “real wage increases” as inflation soars and more and more people struggle to pay their bills. The automatic wage indexation absorbs the biggest blows for employees, it sounds like, but it is not sufficient. Especially for people with a low or middle income, it continues to “scrape”, while Belgian companies are making historically high profits, according to the National Bank.

“People always pretend that Belgium has an advantage over other countries. But if you look at it in the long term, we are lagging behind,” said the chief executive of the socialist union, Thierry Bodson. The cost of energy here is higher than elsewhere and fuel prices are not included in the index, says his colleague from the Christian union, Marie-Hélène Ska.

A thorn in the side of the unions is the wage standard law from 1996, which severely limits the margin to negotiate wage increases, to a maximum of 0.4 percent for the period 2021-2022. There will be a demonstration in Brussels on Monday to demand an amendment to the law. A parliamentary hearing on the wage standard law will also take place on 29 June.

“Everyone should be able to make a living from their work”, Marie-Hélène Ska argues. Especially now that there is a shortage of personnel in many sectors. “This law obliges us to have the same margin for hairdressers as for pharmaceutical company Pfizer,” Bodson complained. His colleague from the liberal trade union, Olivier Valentin, calls for more free negotiations.

With regard to purchasing power measures, the unions are demanding, among other things, a higher minimum wage, structural measures to absorb the high energy prices and better and affordable public services, such as childcare.

Monday’s demonstration follows the traditional north-south axis in Brussels and so there will also be traffic disruption. The unions expect “a very high turnout”. Not only trade unionists, but also poverty and socio-cultural organizations would join. The culture sector will participate with a separate delegation, advocating for more government investment, a better artist status and strong public broadcasters.

There will also be strikes in some sectors. This is the case, for example, for the security staff at Zaventem airport, as a result of which many flights were canceled as a precaution. It was even advised not to leave on 20 June. Charleroi airport also expects possible disruptions and calls on travelers to be present at least three hours before departure. No inconvenience is expected at the airports of Ostend and Deurne, they will even accommodate extra flights.

The port of Antwerp may also expect an impact from trade union actions, but has taken this into account as a preventive measure in its port planning, so that everything should run as smoothly as possible.

The unions have not received a signal that individual companies will be paralyzed, the ABVV said.

Services will also be disrupted in the public sector. The Wage Standard Act does not directly apply to civil servants, but they are also affected by the declining purchasing power.

The services at De Lijn and the STIB would be disrupted on Monday, as was the waste collection in Brussels. The city of Antwerp also expects disruption to city services. Garbage collection is not insured on Monday and the recycling centers are also closed. Actions are also possible at childcare: the parents were notified in advance. For other city services, the impact remains unclear.

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