Workers in Belgium take action over cost-of-living crisis

25,000 workers marched through Brussels on Friday, 16 December 2022

25,000 workers marched through Brussels on Friday, 16 December 2022

(16 December 2022) Belgian trade unions took to the streets of Brussels to call for urgent action to deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

EPSU joined an estimated 25,000 workers marched through the city on Friday, 16 December to echo calls for greater purchasing power and measures to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis. The demonstration was one of many actions taken by Belgian unions in 2022 in response to a year of escalating inflation. While unions recognise that some measures have been taken, such as VAT reduction on energy bills and an extension on the social tariff, they describe these as a “band-aid that will not stop the bleeding but delay the inevitable”.

Workers across Europe are taking action in response to the same problems. In the UK, RCN workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland began history-making strike action on Thursday, 15 December. Health, care and ambulance workers from Unison and GMB have also taken to the streets to call for urgent pay rises. In Greece, health and care workers from POEDN went on strike for a strong public health system. Italian unions FP-CGIL and UIL FPL organised actions across regions and sectors calling for a fair budget and equal resource allocation.

These actions are only the most recent – 2022 has seen a wave of mobilisation across Europe, particularly in the health and care sectors. EPSU will continue to stand with and advocate for public service workers in 2023.

Belgium Greece Italy U.K.

More like this

Sep. 13, 2023

Unions mobilise over cost-of-living crisis

Austria

The ÖGB trade union confederation has called for a national protest on 20 September to put pressure on the government to address the cost-of-living crisis. The confederation estimates that food inflation alone has increased the annual bill for a family with two children by €1234, with higher energy costs adding a further €1335 on average. The ÖGB is calling for action on housing costs, including a freeze on rents, as well as measures to ensure affordable energy and a tax on energy companies’ excessive profits. The demonstration on 20 September will create a human chain around the national

 S
Mar. 26, 2024

ETUC says cost-of-living crisis is not over for millions of workers

Europe

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has highlighted that the combination of inflation and pay trends means that the living standards of European workers have still not recovered from the cost-of-living crisis. Data from the European Trade Union Institute’s Benchmarking Working Europe 2024 shows that pay, after inflation is taken into account, fell by 0.7% in 2023. Workers in Hungary (-3.8%), Czechia (-3.8%), and Italy (-2.6%) faced the biggest falls in purchasing power last year. Germany (-0.9%) and France (-0.6%) were also among the 10 member states where wages failed to catch up

 S
Oct. 06, 2022

ETUC demonstration calls for action on cost-of-living crisis

Europe

The ETUC coordinated a demonstration in Strasbourg on 5 October followed by a meeting with MEPs to highlight the catastrophic consequences of huge price increases on working people and their families. The confederation is calling for decisive action from the EU and national governments including increased wages and income support, a tax on profits and a cap on prices, all covered in a six-point plan. The ETUC wants to see support for collective bargaining, increases to minimum wages and targeted emergency payments for low-paid people struggling to afford their energy bills, along with a ban on

 S