Belgium's different trade unions are threatening to organise another general strike on Wednesday 9 November if "solutions to the cost of living crisis are not found quickly," announced the chair of the ACV/CSC Christian trade union Marc Leemans on Tuesday.
As the inflation rate in Belgium increased to 9.94% – the highest level in 46 years – in August, the country's three trade unions are calling on the Federal Government to find solutions as soon as possible, as many can no longer keep up with the cost of living.
"The ACV/CSC Board wants solutions for the purchasing power crisis, which is becoming untenable for many people, very quickly," Leemans said on Twitter. "Consultation with employers and governments must ensure that this happens quickly. If no solutions are found, the ACV/CSC calls for a general strike on 9 November."
As Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced following the Consultative Committee last week, Belgium's different governments met with the employers' organisation on Monday. On Wednesday, consultations with the trade unions will follow.
The threat of the general strike – which would be the second one in just half a year – comes from the general trade union front: not just from the Christian ACV/CSC union but also from the socialist ABVV/FGTB and liberal ACLVB/CGSLB ones, specified spokesperson David Vanbellinghen.
"People are scared, they are worried, so something has to be done," he added. "And it will have to happen quickly, because the bills have to be paid."
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In June, the ABVV/FGTB union had already announced an upcoming possible general strike in November. Now, a concrete date has been set.
But first, a so-called "warning action" by the different unions about the purchasing power will be organised on the Place du Monnaie in Brussels on 21 September. With this, the unions want to demand an indicative wage margin and the preservation of the automatic indexation of wages and benefits, among other things.
