The national bet, organized by the major trade unions, kicked off at 10:30 am at the intersection of the small ring road with Boulevard du Roi Albert II. The arrival was scheduled at the South station at 1 pm. This was followed by speeches by the coordinators of the trade unions.

From the morning of the morning, a crowd of people in green, red and blue flowed from Brussels-North station past the tents of the trade unions and PVDA-PTB. Music and drums moved atmosphere. Numerous flags that included “white fury” and placards with slogans about the staff shortage showed the nonprofit’s grievances.

READ ALSO. Why they participate in the great involvement of healthcare: “The hours have to be better, the hours have to be better” (+)

Raoul Hedebouw, chairman of the Marxist party PVDA, was one of the few politicians to take the bet. “It is time to say to all those ministers: in healthcare, people must come first, not profit”, he whipped up the demonstrators in Dutch and French from a tent of his party. “People don’t feel valued, working conditions are getting worse and worse and the ministers don’t listen to that. As a left-wing party, we must stand on the side of care. Money must be made available for such an independent sector,” it said on Tuesday

For Jan-Piet Bauwens, federal secretary of the socialist employees’ union BBTK, the slogan of this demonstration was ‘F*ck the workload’. “We are struggling with the double aging of our patients and that of the staff. The first need more care and the second needs to be replaced.”

The demonstrators came from hospitals, residential care centers, special youth care and childcare, but many of their problems are the same. ‘Take care of the care’, she could read and reverberated through the speakers.

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No hindrance

The competent ministers, Federal Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) and Flemish Minister of Welfare Hilde Crevits (CD&V) were head of Jut. “Hildeke and Franske: shoot in gang”, was the mouth of the ACV Puls demagogue at the head of the demonstration. “The workload is too high, the wages are too low!”, also turned out to be a popular slogan.

The local police Brussels Capital Ixelles warned of nuisance along the course. They recommend until 1 pm to avoid the following sectors: Avenue Maurice Lemonnier and Europa esplanade. Palace Square was closed until 1 p.m. Apart from a few bombs here and there, there were no incidents or nuisance, says Ilse Van de Keere of the police.

Immediate action

According to the unions, the country’s governments must take immediate action. Healthcare providers sometimes have to introduce an admission freeze and beds in hospitals cannot be used due to staff shortages, says Selleslach. “We can’t wait for next year’s elections and the coalition formation that may or may not exist after that.” The unions are also demanding better wages and working conditions.

It is not the intention of the unions to divide the activities in the care sector during the demonstration, says Selleslach. “There is a minimum service, which roughly amounts to a Sunday occupation,” he explains. On December 19, the unions are already adding a day of action in the sector, which includes hospitals, residential care centers, youth care and childcare.