Flemish unions gathered in front of both the Flemish and Federal Health Minister's offices on Tuesday to demand better working conditions in the social and non-profit sectors.
Their campaign was mainly targeted at the Flemish government and the group of 50 or so activists were wearing masks of each Flemish minister.
The unions were demanding a "policy booster shot" for the social sector in the form of reduced working hours, support for physical and mental burdens and efficient digitalisation of administrative tasks. They hope that this will console those working in the sector, who are currently struggling with an acute shortage of personnel.
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Both the Flemish Minister Hilde Crevits and Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke met and spoke with the activists. However, as the BBTK union's Federal Secretary Evert Persoon explained, "the ice-cold answer from the Flemish government is that no additional budgetary means are possible." He added that the Federal Government will also not be allocating any additional resources to the sector.
