Thousands of Belgian workers took to the streets to protest low wages and inflation.

Thousands of Belgian workers took to the streets to protest low wages and inflation.

 Thousands of Belgian workers took to the streets in protest of low wages, inflation and rising energy prices.

Thousands of Belgian workers took to the streets Monday night to protest low wages and inflation, media reported.

According to the Anatolian News Agency, “Law 96” sets the maximum rate of wage increase at 4 percent, which prevents employers from raising wages above this level.

Thousands took to the streets in the Belgian capital on Monday to protest inflation and a law restricting wage increases, according to the report. Workers from all over the country gathered in front of the train station in Brussels and marched to the city’s central station. Demonstrators, wearing green and red hats, marched in the streets blocked by their union flags, protesting against the 1996 law that barred workers from raising wages.

Employers can not raise wages higher than this because the so-called ’96 law sets a maximum rate of 4 percent. Protesters say the rate is insufficient, especially amid rising prices caused by the Corona virus outbreak. Thousands of workers carried handwritten signs that read, “Everything goes up except our wages,” “Change the law.”

“One of the biggest problems is the sharp rise in energy prices, which has made many goods inaccessible to many people,” said Werner van Heathold, a union member. Another reason for the protest, he said, was that the government made it impossible for unions to negotiate with employers, and that union workers who organized previous demonstrations were punished. We are here for the right to protest.