Belgian teachers see lower gross scale, higher net pay due to new indexing cap

Belgian teachers in the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles discovered their September pay slips showed a lower annual gross scale but a higher net salary, due to a new federal government measure capping indexing above €4,000 gross. The mechanism was not communicated to teachers, causing surprise. This is the first application of the measure, which may affect public-sector morale and labor relations.