Public service unions have requested a meeting with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on pension reform, and if they do not obtain a response in the next 24 hours, they will meet to prepare a reaction, they say in a letter to the head of government.
The reason for the letter is the government’s agreement on pension reform, one of whose key measures concerns the capping of equalisation. This is a system that allows civil servants’ pensions to be adjusted, both by indexation and by linking them to salary increases for active civil servants.
For the Christian, Socialist and Liberal civil service unions, that decision was taken without any social consultation. According to the common front, it demonstrates “the government’s contempt” for all public service staff.
The unions want the Prime Minister to be present in person at Thursday’s meeting of Committee A, a negotiating body for all public services on which the unions and the government sit.
The workers’ representatives want “a response within 24 hours” and it is this response that will determine their position, they explain.
“If these demands are not met, the unions will take all possible measures to protect the interests of public services and staff,” the common front warned.
