Editorial
Two weeks ago, I was in Istanbul for the meeting of the General Assembly of the European Association of People Management. HRPro is a member of that association since 2017. I was pleased to explain our indexation system to colleagues from across Europe. Their eyes went big as I talked about our automatism in the evolution of our wages.
Some people remembered a similar system in a certain industry, but that was abolished years ago. The automatic inflation of allowances was met with more acceptance.
True, the automatic augmentation of wages when inflation rises protects the purchasing power of the people. But it weakens Belgian’s competitive position. As our economy lives from export to our neighboring countries, we must be very careful. What use is our purchasing power if we lose our jobs?
Very often, organizations cannot increase their prices for many reasons. And so they are confronted with melting margins and emerging losses. On top of all this, some organizations are moving their production to countries with lower energy prices. Energy and salaries: it’s not a very attractive cocktail.
And this seems to be a message that is difficult to pass in Belgium. People do not consider the inflation-related increases as salary increases. The high degree of entitlement and complacency is worrying. Unions are threatening with strikes, political parties are struggling to distribute money to the people, money that does not exist.
This country is paralyzed by its complexity, its complacency, and its chaotic governance. We must not forget that the basis of our prosperity is still our productivity. We can protect our little paradise by claiming that the whole world is wrong about how to preserve purchasing power. We may be right, but that has no value in a turbulent world.
We need more action. Fewer words. We need collaboration. Not conflict. We need long-term vision; less myopia. We need courage, not fear.
David Ducheyne
President Hrpro.be
