2 yıl önce

Thousands of care sector workers protest in Brussels

The government has acknowledged the problems, but has yet to come up with any convincing plan to turn the crisis in the sector around.

Over 10,000 people have protested throughout central Brussels to demand better working conditions and more pay in the care sector which has been especially hard-hit during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trade union activists and workers are demanding that more people be hired in hospitals and care homes for older people, and that pay scales would be increased considerably to make the sector more attractive for young professionals.

“We cannot wait until after the 2024 elections. Valuable years are going to waste,” Mark Selleslach of the ACV Puls trade union said on Tuesday.

In @destandaard Werkende mensen hebben het doorgaans merkelijk beter waar #vakbonden sterk staan. In landen waar vakbonden zwak staan, is de ongelijkheid groter en vaak sterker toegenomen, of je nu kijkt naar lonen, inkomens of vermogens.👍👇https://t.co/flsGaTK3tl pic.twitter.com/ZRD8gV7MHR
— ACV Puls (@acvpuls) January 24, 2023

Increasing cost of living

Workers also walked off the job in Belgium on November 2022 during nationwide strikes against increasing consumer prices, disrupting transportation, forcing flight cancellations and shutting down public services in the latest European protests over the rising cost of living.

Belgian trade unions said gas prices have gone up by 130 percent in just one year, electricity by 85 percent and fuel by 57 percent, while food prices also have increased.