Inflation triggers wage indexation for employees and civil servants
According to HR service provider SD Worx, more than two million employees and civil servants will receive an automatic wage indexation over the coming three months. That includes the wages of civil servants' salaries and social security benefits, as the pivot index was exceeded this month.
For the first time, the so-called "centenindex" applies, meaning that full indexation will be granted only on salaries up to 4,000 euros gross per month and on benefits up to 2,000 euros gross per month. Above those thresholds, the increase will be proportionally smaller.
The federal government intends to use this mechanism to limit automatic indexation twice during its term of office: once from June 2026 and again from 2028. The measure also applies to the private sector, though the timing and terms of pay rises vary by sector.
The centenindex came into effect in June in a number of smaller sectors that index wages monthly, but the first major impact is expected over the summer. That includes 170,000 employees in the metal industry, 52,000 in the cleaning sector and 305,000 in private hospitals, care homes and elderly care.
Pivot index exceeded
The more than one million contract workers and civil servants in the public sector, along with social security benefit recipients, will also see their wages rise by 2 per cent in September. This is because the pivot index was exceeded in June, meaning that inflation pushed the prices of goods and services beyond a predefined threshold.
In its most recent forecasts, the Federal Planning Bureau predicted a further breach of the pivot index in December, which would trigger another wage increase in March. That second indexation would apply in full, without the centenindex cap. The Planning Bureau currently expects the next breach after that to occur in October 2027, with the centenindex applying again from 1 January 2028.
Belgian inflation, meanwhile, fell to 3.4 per cent in June, according to Statbel. Inflation had accelerated sharply in April, rising from 1.65 per cent to 4.01 per cent, driven by the conflict in the Middle East and rising energy prices, before stabilising at 4.08 per cent in May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, fell from 3.59 per cent to 3.04 per cent in June.
PHOTO © AFP / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD
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