Vooruit wants to increase minimum wages to 2,500 euros per month: “Many more people will want to work this way”

“And that’s how socialists do it: we promise and we deliver,” said the Vooruit chairman — © Belga

Vooruit wants to increase minimum wages by 500 euros per month, to 2,500 euros. Chairman Melissa Depraetere launched this proposal on the eve of May 1. “With a higher minimum wage, many more people will want to work,” it says.

On the eve of May 1, Labor Day, the socialists gather as usual to celebrate their high day. During that meeting in the port of Ghent, Melissa Depraetere once again encouraged her troops in the run-up to the elections. The Vooruit chairman’s May 1 speech also contained a striking proposal to increase minimum wages by no less than 500 euros. Today the minimum wage in Belgium is around 13 euros per hour. If it depends on the Socialists, that amount should increase to 15 euros per hour after the elections. This means an increase from approximately 2,000 euros to 2,500 euros on a monthly basis.

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“All people who go to work every day deserve a wage that they can live on,” Depraetere said. But the chairman is mainly marketing the increase in minimum wages as an instrument to increase the difference between working and not working. “With a higher minimum wage, many more people will want to work,” it says.

“All people who go to work every day deserve a wage that they can live on. With a higher minimum wage, many more people will want to work”

Melissa Depraetere

Chairman Vooruit

One step further

Earlier in the election campaign, the French-speaking socialists already launched a similar proposal. The PS even goes a step further than Vooruit. Chairman Paul Magnette is aiming for an increase to 2,800 euros per month, or 17 euros per hour. That proposal then received support from the business world. They fear that the wage increases will end up on their account. “If the intention is to increase people’s net income, this must be done through tax reforms and a more efficient public company,” the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (VBO) responded to the PS plans at the time.

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Vooruit’s proposal is part of a broader package of measures to protect purchasing power. Depraetere also wants to tinker with the wage standard law. This determines how much wage costs may increase. “We must allow unions to really negotiate again for higher wages,” said Depraetere. “If a profit is made, the people who do the work should still benefit from it.” In addition, Vooruit also wants to maintain the automatic indexation of wages.

PVDA

• We are adjusting the legislation so that a 30-hour week with salary retention becomes legally possible. In this way we make time for family and hobbies, combat burnouts and mental or physical wear and tearage and we create new jobs. We are experimenting with the 30-hour week in certain sectors
• We guarantee at least 25 days of leave per year for every workeremployee (for full-time work) – this means 5 days more than the current legal minimum
• A working day has a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 8 working hours. We guarantee at least 14 hours of rest between two work shifts
• We consider every hour in addition to normal working hours as overtime. Employees will then receive 50 percent extra pay
• We strengthen the mechanisms to hold employers liable for workplace accidents and disability

GREEN

• Better working conditions and fair wages in essential sectors that are struggling with shortages, such as healthcare, education and green industry
• Combating discrimination in the labor market with targets, positive actions and practical tests for job applications. Discrimination will result in sanctions
• Work brings wages with higher minimum wages and a shift from taxes on labor to taxes on capital
• Valuing unpaid work, such as childcare or informal care and volunteer work
• Investing in employment services

VLAAMS BELANG

• The complete regionalization of labor market policy, including social dialogue, which concludes collective labor agreements and sets minimum wages tailored to the Flemish socio-economic reality
• A social limitation of unemployment benefit for a period of up to two years, except for people over fifty-five, informal caregivers and unemployed people in training for a shortage profession
• No positive discrimination on the labor market, no anonymous practical tests
• No payment of unemployment benefits by the unions. Paying unemployment benefits is a government task, not a trade union task

OPEN VLD

• Working time arrangements must be agreed at company level: work when you want, how much you want and for how long you want
• Statutory holidays become freely selectable days of leave
• Temporary employment contracts of indefinite duration
• A language border is not a work border: anyone who refuses a job across a language border will be sanctioned
• All restrictions on student employment will be removed

CD&V

• The tax reform must make work more rewarding and make the difference between working and not working large enough
• The balance between work and family must be improved: sufficient leave, a family-friendly workplace and the right to flexible working arrangements for parents of children up to the age of 12
• A nearby labor market: sufficient accessible jobs in every region, but also more powers to develop tailor-made policies for regional authorities
• A concentric labor migration model: the focus is first on intra-Belgian mobility, then on intra-European mobility and only afterwards on labor migration from non-EU countries
• Step up the fight against age discrimination in the labor market through awareness campaigns and practical tests

FORWARD

• The wage law must be relaxed so that wages can rise again more than is currently the case. The margin must be determined nationally, but concrete agreements can then be made sectorally
• Minimum wages must rise further. Net wages must increase through the work bonus. And the highest wages must contribute more via the special social security contribution, so that it can be scrapped for the lowest wages
• Tighter control of the unemployed. They must receive an evaluation every four months. The sanctions become stricter with successive negative evaluations. Anyone who repeatedly refuses to participate in an interview will lose their benefits. The VDAB must have a guidance meeting with unemployed people at least once a month
• The tax deduction of service vouchers must be overhauled and domestic helpers must earn more
• Job seekers who still do not have a suitable job after two years should be offered a basic job. A full-fledged job, such as support in healthcare, schools or childcare

N-VA

• We are making unemployment benefits more activating. Anyone who becomes unemployed will receive higher financial protection for the first three months than today
• Like everywhere else in the world, we are limiting unemployment benefits over time
• Anyone who does not work today will receive an extensive buffet of social benefits in addition to benefits. We centrally keep track of how many social benefits someone receives in total, so that they can be capped
• Just as with the self-employed, there will be a maximum employer contribution (‘cap’) for employees, which will lower the cost price, especially for older employees
• In exchange for the higher benefit at the start, we monitor each unemployed person better. More personal contacts follow and the effort requirement for benefits increases