Coalition partners dismiss De Wever's proposal to freeze wage indexation

In his quest to find 10 billion euros in budget savings, prime minister Bart De Wever has asked his coalition partners if they would accept a freeze on wage indexation. The proposal was met with strong opposition within his government.

Belgium has a long-standing system of automatic wage indexation, meaning wages rise in line with inflation. However, as the country looks to make "at least" 10 billion euros in cuts by 2030 to meet European deficit targets, De Wever proposed a temporary freeze on the system.

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The core of the federal government will meet for budget discussions on Wednesday. During recent talks with his deputy prime ministers about how to fix Belgium's budget, De Wever suggested a freeze on wage indexation, according to Het Laatste Nieuws.

Cost of living

Such a freeze has been implemented several times in the past and is a highly sensitive issue within the current government, particularly for the socialist party Vooruit and the Christian Democratic party CD&V. 

Although the measure is intended to provide companies with breathing space, it also means stagnant wages while the cost of living continues to rise. Conner Rousseau, chairman of Vooruit, and Sammy Mahdi, chairman of CD&V, both dismissed De Wever's proposal. 

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"The index protects people's purchasing power," said Rousseau. "When the cost of living rises, so does your income. This makes a real difference to people who are struggling to pay their bills. Taking responsibility means distributing the effort fairly. There are other ways to improve the budget," he said.

'Out of the question'

Mahdi called freezing wage indexation "out of the question". “An index jump on people's wages is simply bullying working people for the benefit of large companies. Moreover, it hardly benefits the budget in the short term,” he said.

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"Throughout the government negotiations, we as CD&V have fought to invest in the purchasing power of the working middle class, including tax cuts on their wages and maintaining their indexation. That must remain intact for CD&V," said Mahdi.

"You can also balance the budget without forcing the working middle class to swallow an index jump on their wages and giving money to large companies," he said.

^{Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever © BELGA PHOTO ZENO DRUYTS}