The non-profit sector will hold a united national demonstration and trade union protest on 7 November to denounce deteriorating working conditions and staff shortages.
The union front (CNE, Setca, CGSLB, CSC, and CGSP) on Monday announced the protest, while also calling for "concrete solutions". Addressing the various (recently formed or currently forming) Belgian governments, the organisations behind the protest called for making care and social roles "sustainable and attractive, both in terms of working conditions and remuneration."
"The widespread recruitment difficulties and their impact on working conditions make these jobs unsustainable in the short term," the unions criticised.
This action continues a two-year campaign focused on staff shortages and the need to treat non-profit services as a public good.
The protest echoes mobilisations in 2022 and 2023, where healthcare, social protection, and cultural workers also demanded better jobs and working conditions. Despite ongoing efforts, their demands appear to have been ignored.
"Expectations rose after Covid, and the disappointment among non-profit and public sector workers is immense as this legislative term ends," the unions lamented.
"It is urgent to redefine policies ensuring that public health and well-being are no longer subjected to short-sighted economic imperatives," the unions stressed.
Working hours are a key issue to make these professions sustainable and appealing – with a "balance between private and professional life" needing be achieved.
For the unions, the priority is negotiating ambitious social agreements for non-profit sector workers.
More broadly, they are calling for a fundamental reassessment of austerity policies. "We need a strong regulatory state that invests in structural funding to strengthen public and non-profit services," the coalition urged.
