A 62-year-old teacher in Saint-Gilles began a three-day hunger strike on Wednesday to protest cuts to funding for school meals.
Michel Barile, a history teacher and a trade union representative at the Institut des Filles de Marie, entered a hunger strike at 08:00 on Wednesday to demand that free hot meals remain available for vulnerable pupils. Under medical supervision, he plans to continue until 15:30 on Friday.
“I will be hungry for three days, that's true. But the children are hungry every day,” Barile said.
He is staying in a room at the school and will spend two nights there with the support of the school's management and organising authority.
According to the joint trade union front, annual funding for school meals at the institute has fallen from €85,000 to €35,000.
Barile said an initial budget of €21 million was previously available across the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, of which €16 million was used, a budget that has fallen to €14 million now.
Related News
However, the Ligue des Familles, a non-profit that represents and defends the interests of families in Wallonia and Brussels, said the reduction was greater.
According to them, the previous €21.4 million budget for free meals was abolished and replaced with €9.2 million, including funding for special education.
Ligue des Familles added that the new funding is being distributed among roughly twice as many schools and that meals paid for through the scheme no longer necessarily have to be free.
At the institute's primary school, free meals have been replaced by a paid service provided by an external company. Around 50 of its 273 pupils have signed up, while the others bring their own food.
Barile said colleagues had reported that some children occasionally arrive without anything to eat.
In the secondary school, staff members have also paid for sandwiches for pupils who could not afford them, he said. A meal now costs €4.50.
Minister's policy
Barile described the policy of Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR) as elitist and accused her of targeting the weakest. He is calling for talks with trade unions and for the funding system to be reviewed.
“We are not leaving you alone. I don't think it's normal that children don't have anything to eat,” he said.
Contacted by The Brussels Times, the Minister declined to comment.
Further action is planned from 12 to 16 October, when staff members will symbolically give up their lunches, and on 13 October, a free hot meal will be provided to primary school pupils with help from staff and parents.
Around 60 staff members are expected to take part in the "Hunger Relay," while secondary school pupils will also help organise the meal for the 273 primary school children.
The school's organising authority and management support the protest.
