JOB VACANCY PT REZEKI BANGUN PERSADA GAJI TINGGI

 “Prices of electricity, gas, food have gone through the roof over the past year. Because of the war but also because companies seized the opportunity to increase profits even more,” said Christian Democrat trade union ACV. “In contrast, wages are not allowed to increase for years … This has to stop. We need a price cap on gas and electricity.”

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has called on the European Union to cap gas prices but disagreements among EU countries over the technical implications of such a cap have delayed decision making.

The country’s four biggest banks — ING Belgique, BNPP Fortis, Belfius and KBC — expect the Belgian economy to enter a recession this winter. This would be the third time in 20 years that Belgium has suffered a recession, according to Belgian daily Le Soir.

A country is generally thought to be in a recession when its economy contracts two quarters in a row. The four banks anticipate a contraction of 0,4 per cent in the fourth quarter after a contraction of 0.1 per cent in the third quarter.

Belgium has set up a system of wage indexation guaranteeing that if the cost of living goes up, salaries, pensions and benefits also increase.

But unions have been arguing that the next indexation — which will not take place before January for hundreds thousands of workers — does not take into account higher fuel prices specifically, so there is always a loss in purchasing power.

Agencies contributed to this report