Workers in the public sector, as well as pensioners and those receiving state benefits, will see a 2% increase in their income in the coming months, due to a rise in inflation in April. According to data from the statistics office Statbel, inflation in Belgium rose from 3.18% in March to 3.37% in April. The smoothed health index (a four-month average which is used as the basis for indexation of pensions, social security benefits and some salaries and wages) reached 128.32 points, exceeding the threshold required to trigger automatic salary and benefit hikes. Because this index was surpassed in April, social benefits are set to be indexed up by 2% next month, while in two months' time public sector wages will also rise by 2%.
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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.