Ei-iE

Teacher unionists were among over 100,000 demonstrators who took to the streets of Brussels, Belgium, on 6 November to fight budgetary reform measures planned by the Belgian federal Government that will affect workers severely.

On the eve of this national strike, a group of education unions from the Flemish-speaking part of the country had a constructivemeeting with decision-makers in education in Flanders. They shared educators’ concerns abouthow the federal political coalition’s measures will impact on the teaching profession.

Concerns

The teacher unions maintain that the planned measures will have a broad-reaching impact on areas such as the salaries of teachers entering the profession, salary indexation, career prospects, and pensions. They also condemned the fact that the Flemish Government wants to reduce subsidies, and the workforce, as a means of reducing public spending on education.

“As teacher unions, we are whistleblowers and take action,” read the common statement signed by EI affiliates Christelijk Onderwijscentrale(COC), the Christelijk Onderwijzersverbond(COV), ACOD-Onderwijs, and Vrij Syndicaat van het Openbaar Amnt- Onderwijs(VSOA Onderwijs).

Others actions are already planned, i.e. localstrikes on 24 November, 1 and 8 December, and another national strike on 15 December. Through these actions, education unionists will fight these “crushing” measures, which the sector cannot tolerate.

Thesemeasures, they explained, will greatly affect the quality of education expected in Belgium’s knowledge society, by the Flemish and federal governments.  “No to crushing measures, united for a powerful teaching force,” they said.

The jointtrade union front stressed that it was positive that education policymakers appreciated several of their concerns, noting that quality education is the common goal of these discussions.

Antisocial, unfair and unjust measures

“The governmental coalition is cooking a meal of misery for workers,” says the statement issued by the three Belgian trade union confederations, the Trade Union of the Liberals (CGSLB), the Christian Trade Union Confederation (ACV-CSC), and the General Labour Federation of Belgium (ABBV-FGTB). “The agreement reached by the new federal government is simply absolutely horrendous for workers and families. The wealthiest are spared. We want everyone to contribute, according to her or his ability to pay and her or his resources. Not by further impoverishing the average household and presenting the bill solely to workers. Not by forgetting those who have already been spared for years!”

EI member organisations from the Brussels, Walloon, and Flemish regions belong to these trade union confederations.

This coalition agreement is particularly antisocial, unfair and unjust, as is the measure to increase the pension age to 67 years, according to the trade union confederations. They point out that workers alone will carry the weight of savings, while wealthy individuals and big business will be spared.

They also maintain that funding for the federal social security system is seriously compromised. They denounce the increasing pressure on the health care system where patients will have to pay more for quality care, while this should be a basic right for all.

They further demand a margin for wage negotiations, the full maintenance of the salary indexation, strong social security, investment in sustainable economic recovery and employment, all to be financed through a fair tax system, a balanced contribution of labour income and capital income, with a particular effort to be made by the wealthy.