On 22 May, nearly 30,000 workers and activists from the non-profit sector marched through Brussels to call for urgent investment in health, care, and cultural services. The demonstration echoed a growing frustration with inaction from both the Flemish and federal Governments. Workers are calling for better pay, decent working conditions, and a new social agreement to make careers in the sector more attractive. Staff shortages, especially in healthcare, have reached crisis levels - with unions warning of a vicious cycle of excessive workloads, absenteeism, and further shortages. The demonstration also brought forward concerns from the cultural sector, with demands to reform the artist statute and reduce the high bar for pension contributions, which penalise those with precarious work patterns.
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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.