Belgium’s National Bank said it sees potential room for real wage increases in the 2027-2028 period during a presentation of the bank's new economic outlook on Friday.
The automatic wage indexation system in Belgium has pushed wages up during the recent years of high inflation. This created a labour cost issues for Belgian businesses compared to neighbouring countries.
To address this, the wage norm law limited wage increases, preventing rises above the indexed adjustments in recent years.
However, the National Bank now observes that the gap with neighbouring countries is closing faster than previously anticipated.
The bank estimates that this shift could allow for wage increases in 2027-2028, with current predictions suggesting a possible margin of 0.4%.
