2023-06-11 10:46:00
On the set of “It’s not every day on Sunday”, several party presidents clashed for a big debate, one year before the elections. The first question in this debate concerned unemployment: is lifelong unemployment over?
Currently, the government wants at least 80% of Belgians of working age to have a job in 2030… But we are far from it: 76% employment rate, 65% in Wallonia-Brussels for the moment.
As a concrete case, our team is meeting Martine. This woman had a job, but it was so badly paid that she preferred to become unemployed and she says it: if she can’t find a job better paid than unemployment, why work?
Opinions differ
“What we want to say is that when someone loses their job, the allowances must be increased with 70 to 80% of the last salary remaining guaranteed.“, explains Maxime Prévot, president of the Engaged. “At the end of the two years, then opens a right to employment where the State offers a job of collective interest, such as being an attendant in a nursing home, for example.“.
Raoul Hedebouw, he believes that unemployment without time limit is necessary, because work does not pay enough. “The traditional parties have all voted to block wages. In many sectors, people work with 700-800 euros per month, maximum 1,200 full-time. Is this normal? We need quality jobs for everyone, and the economy is capable of it“.
On the side of the MR, we must put an end to this long-term unemployment. “Allowances should be limited to two years. Afterwards, there is support for your activation of the municipalities, via community service, but also via follow-up so that you can be put back to work. To lower taxes, more people just need to work“.
The liberal-social party, DéFI, explains hearing “a lot of demagoguery”: “First, it is wrong to say that there is unlimited unemployment. Second, the overwhelming majority of job seekers want to work. The real problem is training. 7 out of 10 unemployed people in Brussels do not have the appropriate training for the jobs offered in Brussels“Like Raoul Hedebouw, he therefore does not want a time limit on unemployment.”It’s demagogic, you will send people to the CPAS“.
And finally, at Écolo, we question the attractiveness of salaries. “Working and earning so little is not normal, we have to make work as attractive as possible. We must increase the low and middle wages. We are also against limiting allowances for training, strengthening work and training“.
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