The Belgian news in December 2006 09/01/2007 00:00

The Belgian news in December 2006

22 December 2006
"Da Vinci Code" most popular DVD, Moi, Belgique no 6 worldwide

Belgian products struggle against the American movie-making machine but one Belgian effort is in sixth place: "Moi, Belgique." Etimations based on DVD sales in the Fnac, Mediamarkt and Extrazone show the "Da Vinci Code" as the most popular Christmas DVD followed by the sequel of "Pirates of the Caribbean," the Animation film "Cars" and the TV series "Prison Break."

22 December 2006
Driving schools protest against reform plans

Driving school instructors and representatives took part in a demonstration in front of the driving test centre on the Labeur road in Anderlecht.Instructors fear that the reforms proposed by the Minister of Mobility, Renaat Landuyt, will lead to a 'laissez-faire' attitude.The Minister wants to reduce the government's involvement and monitoring of the sector, a practice that, according to professionals, may lead unqualified drivers to pose as driving instructors to earn some euros in the black, and therefore detrimental to road safety.

21 December 2006
More car uncertainty in Belgium

Uncertainty surrounds the long-term future of the Opel factory in Antwerp.This follows apparently conflicting messages over the likelihood of new models being produced at the plant.The renewed uncertainty comes in the wake of the major job losses recently announced at the VW plant in Forest on the outskirts of Brussels. There is over capacity in the global automobile market and what happened at Forest highlights the need to secure new models in order to safeguard jobs.

21 December 2006
Christmas housing crisis in countryside

A campaign has been launched to raise awareness about the problem of access to housing in rural areas of Belgium. It is estimated that more than 25 percent of the country's rural villages to not have any social housing. Now, a women's association, Action Chretienne Rurale des Femmes (ACRF), has launched an initiative to promote access to housing in such areas. Part of the ACRF plan is to get municipal councils to find ways of increasing the housing stock, both public and private sector, in their areas

21 December 2006
No Christmas air chaos at Charleroi

Civil servants working for the Walloon regional government staged a strike against the local administration's plan to merge two of its ministerial departments. Trade unions at Charleroi Brussels South airport were among those taking part in the protest action, however, the unions assured air travellers that they would not hinder passenger flights taking off or landing from the airport, the second biggest in Belgium.

21 December 2006
Belgian workers least likely to change employer

One Belgian employee in three has worked for the same employer for at least 15 years, according to a new survey.The study suggests that Belgians are among the most stable - and least mobile - employees in Europe.The survey was carried out by Accountemps, the European branch of the Robert Half International group

20 December 2006
New move on minimum wage

Lengthy negotiations between bosses, organisations, trade unions and trade associations are expected to recommend an increase in the minimum wage. The different parties, who have been in talks for more than a month, are likely to call for the minimum wage in Belgium to be increased by 60 euros a month over the next two to three years. Another likely outcome of the discussions is a recommendation that salaries should be increased, possibly by 5 percent, between 2007 and 2008.

20 December 2006
Pharmacists set to sell pills on Net

Belgian chemists could will soon be allowed to sell non-prescription drugs on the Internet.It will be left to individual pharmacists themse