About 150 people have gathered in front of Brussels' Central Station on Tuesday to demand the individualisation of unemployment rights and the end of the cohabitation status, which causes people to lose a large part of their benefits or pensions.
It has been 19 years since the United Nations adopted a resolution urging Belgium to change the status of cohabitants, according to Réseau Wallon de Lutte Contre la Pauvreté (RWLP, Walloon Anti-Poverty Network), the organiser of the demonstration, reports Bruzz.
Before the Federal government is formed, RWLP and the Vakbond van de Giganten (a union for people in extreme poverty) want to remind everyone of the disastrous consequences of the statute for people who are dependent on benefits, and of the additional bureaucracy that the statute entails, reports La Libre.
The Union aims to organise a public demonstration every month. For example, there has already been a campaign on Frank Laeremans, a homeless man who spent 11 nights camping outside of the Ixelles town hall to prove his link with the municipality so he would not lose his living wage. A memorial stone for people who have died on the streets of Brussels has also been placed.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
