The CSC-Education union has urged Education Minister Valérie Glatigny to provide clear answers on Monday after teachers in the French-speaking Community of Belgium noticed unexpected changes to their latest payslips.
In a statement on Sunday, the union said teachers must receive clear, precise and unambiguous information at the start of the week.
It also called for firm guarantees that the measure will not affect teachers’ future careers or retirement pensions.
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Concerns emerged on Saturday after several teachers said on social media that the pay scale applied to their September salary appeared lower than before.
Asked about the issue on Saturday evening, Glatigny’s office said the change was due to the administration using a “fictional scale” to take account of the federal government’s indexation freeze on the portion of salaries above 4,000 euros gross.
According to the minister’s office, the adjustment will have no negative effect on the calculation of seniority or pension rights. It also said the unions had been informed of the measure on 20 August.
The CSC-Education union said on Sunday that the minister’s explanation remained ambiguous.
Its general secretary, Roland Lahaye, said no direct communication had been made about the specific situation of education staff in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
He said that, although trade unions are not responsible for processing salaries, they should have been informed in advance.
Lahaye added that, given the current climate of crisis and tension, direct communication to staff could have helped calm what he described as legitimate anger.
He also criticised the minister for previously using various channels, including staff members’ private email addresses, to promote her reforms, sometimes even before democratic debate and a parliamentary vote.
In protest, the Mars Attacks! collective has called on teachers to stop work on Monday.
