Unions will protest unemployment benefits reform outside the Brussels Enterprises, Commerce and Industry (BECI) offices at 13:00 on Wednesday.
Several trade unions, the FGTB Brussels, CSC Brussels, the Committee of Unemployed Workers of the CSC, and their associative partners will hold a protest on Wednesday against what they described as "a corporate discourse disconnected from reality" regarding unemployment benefits reform.
From February, affected individuals excluded from unemployment benefits lose their financial support.
Labour organisations estimate that nearly half of these individuals, left without jobs or income alternatives, will rely on public welfare centres (CPAS/OCMW).
BECI has recently promoted a tool based on artificial intelligence that supposedly lists all online job vacancies in the region.
Trade unions and their partners claim this communication falsely suggests there are close to 100,000 job opportunities in Brussels, matching the number of job seekers in the city.
However, many of these roles are unsuitable, inadequate, or inaccessible to local job seekers, according to the unions. They also allege that numerous employers fail to share vacancies with the Brussels Employment Office, Actiris, undermining transparency and equal access to employment.
The symbolic protest will involve placing CVs into BECI’s letterbox, which will slide into yellow recycling bags, representing the difficulties faced by unemployed individuals.
Organisers argue that barriers such as age, lack of qualifications, childcare limitations, and discrimination based on gender, origin, or age prevent these individuals from entering the Brussels labour market.
The protest will conclude with speeches by representatives from the unions, associations, and people directly affected by the unemployment benefits reform.
