According to a survey by the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in collaboration with the University of Saint-Louis and the Socialist Center for Continuing Education (CESEP), 73% of Belgians support a radical reduction in working time during of the period following the coronavirus epidemic.
They are 90% wanting change in employment and ecological transition, we still learn in this study relayed Thursday. Between loss of income and employment for some, savings for others, pressures linked to telework or new consumption habits, the period of confinement seems to have amplified all the inequalities.
According to the results of researchers from the two universities and CESEP, 32% of Belgians claim to have lost part of their income. The loss affects low income and young people more.
Conversely, 50% of respondents saw their expenses drop more than their income. These are in particular people who are pensioners or have incomes above 2,500 euros per month.
90% of Belgians perceived at least one advantage in teleworking
Affected by the brunt of the economic repercussions of the health crisis, 73% of atypical workers, such as temporary workers and the self-employed, declare having lost all or part of their wages during the confinement period.
Nine out of ten Belgians perceived at least one advantage in teleworking, in particular in terms of travel, flexible hours and the combination of the activity with family obligations.
While 63% of workers experienced changes in their working conditions during confinement, these various changes were a source of new difficulties for 93% of them.
For 41% of women who responded to the survey, the combination of their job and family responsibilities is a source of greater fatigue, compared to 31% of male respondents.
At the time of deconfinement, no less than 73% of Belgians also claim to support a radical reduction in working time. 87% have changed their consumption habits. 31% of respondents say they consume more local products and 22% have reduced their unnecessary consumption.
Finally, “for 90% of respondents, the post-Covid period should integrate the guarantee of a job for all, the shift of our societies into ecological conversion, the recognition of socially useful jobs, the creation of a sustainable investment fund and democratization of businesses“.
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