Unrest hits voluntary and social services sector

Download article in original language : BE9712127NFR.DOC

Strikes and demonstrations in December 1997 indicated that social unrest is rising in Belgium's care services sector, where workers feel threatened by budgetary cuts. Workers want to defend not only the volume but also the quality of employment in this sector.

On 1 December 1997, answering a call from a common front of French and Flemish Christian and Socialist unions - the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond/Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens, ACV/CSC) and the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV) - workers in the voluntary and social services sector came out on the streets to protest against budgetary cuts imposed by the Government and to demand a 35-hour working week. That demonstration was the start of a series of actions which were due to lead to a general strike on 16 December and stoppages in hospitals in January (BE9712225N). The unions have announced that they will continue their actions on the same scale in all regions.

This sector covers workers employed in care services and services to people in hospitals and workers with disabilities, crèches, old people's homes and the cultural sector. It represents about 14% of workers in Belgium, employed in dozens of private and public institutions.

The 1 December action was an important demonstration, as for the first time these workers have openly expressed their concerns at the current direction taken by the Government for this sector.

Instead of taking account of the need to boost employment in these services, particularly because of the ageing population, the Government tends to consider them as instruments for absorbing unemployment. Because of budgetary cuts, open-ended contract jobs are replaced by insecure, unstable jobs and reduced hours, while institutions are threatened with closure and services are not provided. For employed workers, workloads have increased considerably and the conditions of work have deteriorated.

However, this is not the only problem. For the first time, workers are protesting against the threat to this sector and the specialised institutions arising from the parallel development of "community" activities offered to low-skilled unemployed people under the policy of "activating" expenditure on the jobless.

Several employers are supporting the movement as they want to be able to boost employment in their institutions by means of reductions in working hours and employers' social security contributions, as envisaged by the Government.

Meanwhile, Miet Smet, the Federal Minister for Employment and Labour, is looking for an agreement to prevent the stoppages planned. As far as the refinancing of activities and the demand for the 35-hour week is concerned, the answer has to come from the Federal Government.