Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – In Belgium, about 27,500–30,000 people protested for better pay and conditions in healthcare and the non-profit sector. Unions ACV Puls, BBT, and ACLVB demand new social agreements to address staff shortages, funding, and fair support for workers.
As VRT News reported, a large demonstration happened recently, about 27,500 to 30,000 people joined, according to police and union counts. The biggest group was from healthcare. They asked for more money to improve healthcare. This follows a similar protest by non-profit unions in November 2024, who also want more funding to fix problems in their sector.
Their main concern is the big shortage of staff. The Christian union ACV Puls said the Flemish and federal governments promised changes but have not yet given any clear plans or money for agreements to raise wages and improve work conditions. They say a new social agreement is needed to make lasting, good changes in these sectors.
Will Belgium’s healthcare and non-profit workers get fair pay and better conditions?
Besides asking for better pay and work conditions, ACV Puls wants some specific changes to help healthcare workers, especially young ones. They want extra days off, less paperwork, paid internships, and better support for people who want to retrain for healthcare jobs.
On the other hand, the socialist union BBT says the Flemish government has already put money into healthcare, mostly to reduce waiting times. But BBT thinks this is not enough. They want the government to quickly make a multi-year agreement with enough money to fix bigger problems in healthcare. Both unions agree that without a strong and well-funded agreement, the healthcare sector will keep having trouble hiring and keeping workers.
More is needed than just eliminating the queues
Socialist trade union BBTK
The liberal union ACLVB wants more support for workers in childcare, youth care, and help for people with disabilities. They say these workers deserve more than just thanks. They need better pay, jobs they can manage, and fair agreements. The unions want to make work in the non-profit sector more attractive.
The socialist union BBT says there are many open jobs for nurses and a big shortage of care workers, carers, and youth care supervisors. The unions say this shortage causes more stress at work. This stress makes people take more sick days, which leads to even fewer staff.
“The measures that have already been decided put further pressure on the sector”
Christian trade union ACV Puls
The healthcare sector is protesting against recent cuts by the federal government. They say these cuts will make life harder for healthcare workers. The Christian union ACV Puls says workers will have to work longer hours and be more flexible. They will also get smaller pensions in the future.
There are also worries about changes to the wage index system, which usually helps keep wages up with inflation. ACV Puls warns that these cuts and changes will make tough work conditions worse. There are already many staff shortages and heavy workloads. Healthcare workers are afraid that without enough support, it will become harder to keep and find new staff.
The cultural sector is part of the non-profit sector, but faces very different problems and has its own demands. One big issue is the rule in the coalition agreement that artists must work 156 days a year for their work to fully count towards their pension.
The union ACV Puls says this is too many days and hard to meet because artistic jobs are often uncertain. Artists often have times without work, take breaks, or have short contracts. These times do not count fully or at all, making it harder for artists to get a full pension.
The sector is also worried about changes planned for the artist statute, a special law that protects artists. They fear these changes might make the law less helpful and reduce benefits and protections. The cultural sector says there needs to be special rules that understand how artistic work really is, so artists get fair treatment and good social security.
