Through a large demonstration in the capital, FGTB, CSC and CGSLB are demanding a modification of the law on wage standards to obtain more weight in wage negotiations with employers.
They expect some 70,000 people. The starting point of the demonstration is the law of 1996 which regulates the evolution of wages in Belgium. The objective of this law is to keep wages within acceptable margins so as not to compromise the profitability of Belgian companies in comparison with neighboring countries.
Thus, the maximum margin for the evolution of the wage cost had been set at 0.4% for the period 2021-2022. This means that wages in all sectors of activity might not increase by more than 0.4% in two years (excluding indexation).
For the unions, this rule has had its day. They would like to see it jump before the next interprofessional agreement (AIP) 2023-2024, because they fear an even lower maximum margin.
“The same margin at hairdressers as at Pfizer”
“Everyone must be able to live from their work”, notes Marie-Hélène Ska, general secretary of the CSC. Especially since in certain sectors, there is a lack of arms, she recalls.
“This law prevents us from negotiating and forces us to deal with the same margin at hairdressers as at Pfizer”, summarizes Thierry Bodson, president of the FGTB.
“It can no longer be applied like that”, engages Olivier Valentin, national secretary of the liberal union, the CGSLB. “We want to regain our freedom of negotiation.”
This freedom to negotiate is all the more important in the current context of soaring prices. The National Bank of Belgium estimates that inflation will reach more than 8% in Belgium in 2022.
It is true that our country, unlike its neighbours, benefits from automatic indexation which adapts salaries to the cost of living. But “indexing is no longer enough”, claim the unions.
“You should know that inflation is higher in Belgium, in particular because the cost of energy is higher there,” notes Marie-Hélène Ska. “We always give the impression that Belgium has an advantage over other countries. But in reality, when we take into account a longer period, there is a catch-up with neighboring countries”, adds Thierry Bodson. “And let’s also not forget that fuel prices are not factored into the index.”
Limit automatic indexing?
On Monday, the Flemish employers’ federation Voka put forward the idea of limiting automatic indexation to 5% – in other words: an index jump – in order to limit the competitive loss for companies. “We are in an economy where wages represent 20% of production costs,” replies Thierry Bodson. “When the bosses say: ‘be careful, we are going to lose our competitiveness’, let’s not forget that fact.”
Beyond wage negotiations, the demands of the common front extend to purchasing power in general. The workers’ representatives want the government to take control of the price of energy and they demand that employers’ contributions to travel costs be revised upwards. They also want the negotiations on the welfare envelope (government budget to increase social benefits) to be decoupled from the interprofessional agreement.
They will have another opportunity to convince on June 29 in the federal parliament, where they are heard following having collected 87,390 signatures for “free and united negotiations on gross salaries”.
“If the mobilization is good, it is because over the past six months, the specter of workers who feel challenged by purchasing power has grown significantly”, gauge Thierry Bodson.
First major demonstration since the coronavirus
Monday’s national demonstration is the first major one since the coronavirus crisis. All sectors of activity might be affected, whether private or public.
A similar action was organized in September 2021, during the health crisis, and brought together 7,000 people according to the police, and 15,000 according to the unions.
The start of the event will be at 10 a.m. from the Gare du Nord. To allow everyone to reach the meeting place, eight additional trains will be chartered by SNCB, which should not be affected by a strike notice.
At Stib, the transport of metros, trams and buses might however be seriously disrupted.
“Everyone went into overdrive during the Covid period,” remarks Marie-Hélène Ska. “Many workers have lost part of their income. Now that the situation might return to normal, energy prices are going up and wages are stuck. A significant part of the population, who have not necessarily a savings, is in trouble.”
