Based on the budget tables of Bart De Wever's new Federal Government, the socialist civil servants' union ACOD fears "a bonfire" of federal public services.
Some of these essential services include emergency centres, customs, prisons, immigration, social security, and civil protection, among others.
Based on the budget tables, €1.628 billion must be saved on the federal civil service by 2029, says ACOD. This corresponds to a saving of 9% (or 1.8% per year). "The staff will be consulted in the coming weeks, but demonstrations are not ruled out," the union said on Thursday.
"In absolute figures, this means that there must be at least 5,500 to 6,000 fewer full-time jobs by 2029. It is an absolute bonfire." said Tony Six, federal secretary of ACOD Public Services. As the affected services have been struggling with staff shortages for many years, he does not see where savings can still be made.
"They want to do a 'concentration exercise' through mergers or integration of federal government services or shifts of powers. Additionally, the status of civil servants must also be affected. Contractual recruitment will become the rule. Only positions of authority will be able to keep their statutes, but what does that mean?"
Towards regionalisation?
ACOD points out that with this savings exercise, the Federal Government services will no longer be able to provide the service that citizens expect. "That makes it easy to say at the end of the day that 'Belgium does not work' and that regionalisation is the solution."
The unions have already had an initial meeting with the competent Minister of Civil Service Vanessa Matz (Les Engagés), but were told there, according to them, "that the measures in the coalition agreement must be implemented".
What the actions will look like has not yet been decided, according to Six. "They can take different forms. But we first want to hear what our people have to say."
