Three trade unions are planning to campaign this afternoon at the Flemish Parliament against temporary work in government.

In February of this year, the Flemish government approved a draft decree that would allow temporary work within the Flemish government as well as local and regional authorities. The Flemish Parliament must finally approve the draft decree text by the end of today, however, the three trade unions, the ACV (largest national trade union federation in Belgium), ACOD (public services) and VSOA (police union) do not agree with the draft decree.

"Temporary agency work costs almost twice as much as ordinary labour, yet the Flemish government wants to use this,” the unions said in a joint statement.

The unions also warned of a "distrust of social dialogue".

Until recently, temporary agency work in the Belgian public sector has been virtually prohibited, except in certain cases.

In early March this year, Belgium’s federal government also gave the green light for temporary agency work in federal services. The Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decrees, which allows both federal and state-owned companies to use agency work. Federgon, the Belgian federation of staffing agencies, announced that it supports the federal government’s decision to allow temporary work in the public sector.

The draft decree concerning temporary agency work in Flemish public services and local authorities is set to be deliberated today at 13:00 GMT.