Unions to march in Brussels on Friday over cuts to local services

Public sector unions in Brussels will take to the streets on Friday to protest against cuts affecting the capital's municipalities and their public social welfare centres (CPAS).

The march, organised by the socialist trade union Acod, the Christian CSC public services union and the liberal SLFP, will set off from Place Rogier at 10.00 on 13 November. 

The three unions represent staff working in local and regional government in Brussels.

According to the unions, municipalities and CPAS are being "financially strangled". 

Communes face rising costs on several fronts, including funding for their welfare centres, police zones, pensions and essential public services, but do not have the money they need to do their job properly, the unions said.

The unions also point the finger at what they call "disastrous" federal policies. In particular, they say the time limit on unemployment benefits is pushing thousands of people towards the CPAS, which were already struggling with chronic underfunding and serious staff shortages.

Staff should not be made to pay for that, the unions argue. In several Brussels municipalities, savings measures have already led to recruitment freezes, people who leave not being replaced, jobs and services being cut, and teams that are permanently short-staffed, they say. In others, the same is on the cards.

The unions already demonstrated on Tuesday outside the town hall in Molenbeek, where the commune has announced redundancies.