Flemish socialist party Vooruit has issued calls to raise the minimum wage to €14 per hour in a bid to increase the income gap between those who work and those who don't.
The proposal is part of a package of measures that Vooruit has put forward a few days before the May Day holiday on 1 May. The aim would be to get more people into work – one of the party's six priorities.
The socialists also advocate making the law that sets the wage standard more flexible to allow sectors and companies to supplement the margin established at the interprofessional level. In this way, workers in companies that perform well could receive part of the profits.
Vooruit reiterated its commitment to automatic wage indexation. However, the party suggested an adjustment in case of high inflation: low wages would be indexed more and high wages less.
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Rewarding people who work is also a matter of taxation, Vooruit continued, repeating the party's plea for a wealth register (a proposal made by other parties and always vetoed by the Liberals). In Rousseau's view, this is an instrument to collect taxes in a fair way.
"We have the ambition, today and especially after the 2024 elections, to break the deadlock," Rousseau said.