The national demonstration that the socialist trade union ABVV is organizing in Brussels on Friday against the wage standard law is causing considerable hindrance to public transport.
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With the demonstration, the ABVV wants to put pressure on the government for an amendment to the wage standard law, which should curb wage cost developments in the private sector in order to protect the competitiveness of companies vis-à-vis neighboring countries.
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn is introducing an alternative service, in which roughly 60 percent of the journeys would be driven globally. That was heard from spokeswoman Karen Van der Sype on Thursday.
In some regions it will be slightly less, between 50 and 60 percent. This concerns Bruges, Leuven, Ostend, Ghent and tram traffic in Antwerp. In other regions, more will be driven: about 70 percent of the journeys. This concerns the Westhoek, the Flemish Ardennes, Roeselare, the Kempen and Aalst.
De Lijn advises its travelers to inform themselves well in advance via the website of the public transport company: www.delijn.be.
STIB also expects nuisance
In Brussels, the services of the STIB were severely disrupted on Friday morning, around 07:00 only one metro line was running, and a limited number of bus and tram lines.
The STIB had already announced in recent days that its network would be severely disrupted as a result of the national demonstration of the ABVV, and therefore advised its travelers to look for other solutions to get around in Brussels. “On the one hand, because some of the staff will participate in the action, but the passage of the demonstrators will also have consequences for several STIB lines,” it sounded.
That also seems to be confirmed on Friday morning. Only metro line 1 runs, although extended to the Erasmus stop, and with the trams there is only service on lines 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 51, 82 and 92, about half of the lines. The buses are lines 12, 34, 46, 53, 59, 65, 71, 78, 87, extended to De Brouckère, 88 and 95. The night bus Noctis will not run on Friday evening, according to the STIB.
Demonstration in Brussels
The ABVV demonstration will start at 11 a.m. at Brussels-North station and then run via Kruidtuin, Pacheco, Central Station, Cellebroers and Lemonnier, to end at Brussels South station. Speeches by chairman Thierry Bodson and general secretary Miranda Ulens will follow. During the demonstration, a mouth mask is mandatory.
Wage norm law
According to the ABVV, the 1996 law, the so-called wage standard law, prevents negotiations on fair wages after the amendments by the then Michel government in 2017. Earlier this year, the government decided that wages may increase by a maximum of 0.4 percent on top of the index over the period 2021-2022. Companies that achieved good results during the crisis can still pay a one-off corona premium of a maximum of 500 euros.
The socialist trade union wants the wage standard law to be adapted ‘to the reality of the workplace’. ‘We do not want a repeat of the IPA 21-22 in which only a wage margin of 0.4 percent was given because the wage standard law ‘is just put together that way’ and was also made stricter by the previous government. Defending good purchasing power is and remains one of our priorities. That is why the ABVV is now holding this demonstration and no longer waiting for legislative initiatives that will ultimately not come.’
The other unions do not participate in the national demonstration.
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