New night work rules: “hundreds of thousands of workers will experience a reduction in salary”, denounces the FGTB

The FGTB fears that the next regulations around night work will lead to a “brutal social decline” for an increasing number of workers. If the intentions of the Arizona Government (N-VA, CD&V, Vooruit, MR and committed) are materializing, “hundreds of thousands of workers” will experience “a direct reduction in wages and more bad working conditions”, comments the socialist union in a press release.

The government wishes to limit night work to the services provided between midnight and 05:00 when today night work is legally recognized between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 am. Such a change constitutes “an attack on purchasing power”, future night workers losing five hours of law to a night bonus “.

The FGTB does not include the intention of Prime Minister Bart de Wever’s team to authorize night work in a whole series of sectors “which are currently in no way confronted with foreign competition and which are neither closely linked to distribution or e-commerce”. The union estimates that nearly a million workers from sectors who are not directly affected by night work could thus be subject to such a regime.

“Night work can only be considered with a solid supervision by social concertation and this must remain an exception, rather than becoming the rule,” claims the FGTB.

The new rules concerning night work should be approved in the Council of Ministers on Friday. The government justifies these adjustments by evolution of consumer expectations.