Karine Lalieux, the Socialist Minister of Pensions and Social Integration, recently discussed the budgetary control agreement that was reached in the Chamber. She accepted measures to re-employ the unemployed, but clarified that the aim was not to control them more strictly. She suggested that language barriers, such as those between Flanders and Wallonia, should not be a barrier to employment. Lalieux wants to empower employers to reduce their reliance on economic unemployment and instead support workers, in order to achieve an employment rate of 80%. She also highlighted the importance of encouraging job seekers to accept quality jobs that suit them.
The Socialist Minister of Pensions and Social Integration, Karine Lalieux, was the guest at 7:50 a.m. at the microphone of Loïc Parmentier on Bel RTL Matin. She returned to the agreement on budgetary control which might be concluded Thursday evening, in the Chamber. In the negotiations, Karine Lalieux notably accepted measures on the re-employment of the unemployed. She first recalled that “Employment has increased, so we see that workers and job seekers want to work. Today, we have created 200,000 jobs, 5 million people are at work, but we say that we must support these people.”
Are the measures decided aimed at controlling the unemployed more strictly? “Non”, she replies immediately. She cites an example: the language barrier between Flanders and Wallonia. “If employers want to hire people from the other side of the border, without them being bilingual, we will support that”she supports.
In this way, it will encourage job seekers to be able to accept a job more easily. “The unemployed person will no longer be able to refuse a job if it is a job that suits them and a quality job”assures Karine Lalieux.
The Socialist Minister for Pensions also wished “empowering employers” who, today, often use economic unemployment a little too easily. “We are going to make the employer pay part of the economic unemployment to support the worker.” This in order to empower the worker, but also to “co-responsibility” the employer “to achieve an employment rate of 80%.”
As negotiations on budgetary control come to a close, Minister of Pensions and Social Integration Karine Lalieux is making it clear that these measures are not aimed at controlling the unemployed more strictly. Instead, Lalieux hopes to empower both workers and employers, encouraging the former to accept quality jobs and the latter to take on more co-responsibility for achieving an employment rate of 80%. Lalieux’s commitment to supporting job seekers and breaking down language barriers between Flanders and Wallonia is a positive step towards creating a more inclusive workforce in Belgium.