Employees of the public cleaning service in the Brussels municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean announced on Wednesday that they would be going on strike from 12 to 19 September inclusive.
Their unions are calling on the municipal authorities to take action, particularly in view of the shortage of staff and attacks on workers.
"For nearly four years, the staff of the public cleaning department have been faced with incivilities and deplorable working and welfare conditions," the joint trade union front said in a press release. "The municipal authorities have turned a deaf ear to the workers‘ pleas for help."
According to the unions, only 32 sweepers are active in the municipality of almost 100,000 inhabitants. They have to contend with "vehicles that regularly break down, a crying lack of work equipment and an ever-increasing number of illegal dumps," the unions noted. "At their wits' end, these employees say they are unable to continue carrying out their duties in the face of what they see as an excessive workload."
"Since the beginning of the year, the workers have had to collect more than 28,000 tonnes of waste and bulky items," the unions added.
The strike will continue "until the authorities respond favourably" to their demands.
In concrete terms, the unions are demanding that staff be given greater recognition, a promotion to the higher grade (D level for all) and an increase in staff numbers to avoid physical exhaustion and accidents at work.
They are also demanding the possibility for workers aged 55 or over to reduce their working hours while retaining their salaries, and "zero tolerance for the aggression and disrespect to which workers are subjected."
