At the end of March 2000, the Canadian engineering group Bombardier announced its intention to close the Manage plant in Belgium, currently employing 400 workers. The decision comes at a time when order books are full and the company's financial figures are again positive. The Belgian government and
Belgium's former minister in charge of supervising the postal service, Elio Di Rupo, recently asked the Coopers and Lybrand consultancy firm to prepare an audit, with a view to preparing for the liberalisation of postal services in 2003, in response to EU requirements (EU9812136F [1]). The study
According to the provisional estimates of the Institute of National Accounts (lnstitut des Comptes Nationaux), Belgian GDP totalled BEF 9,064 billion (EUR 224.7 billion) in 1998. As such, it accounted for 1% of the OECD zone's GDP and 3% of the European Union's GDP. In 1999, GDP increased
Verlipack, a Belgian concern specialising in hollow glassware, which had been in deep financial trouble for almost two years, filed for bankruptcy for its three sites (Ghlin and Jumet in Wallonia, Mol in Flanders) in January 1999. After many twists and turns, the glass manufacturer had been taken
In November 1998, the Belgian social partners reached an intersectoral agreement covering 1999-2000. The agreement consists of two parts: a global commitment on three basic issues (pay, employment and training) and a list of 10 dossiers "concerning working conditions likely to contribute to social
In September 1999, the Belgian Minister for Employment, Laurette Onkelinx, revealed the broad lines of a "youth employment plan." Without prior consultation of the social partners, she announced her intention to provide all young people with a job no later than six months after they have completed
The difference between the minimum wage and unemployment benefits can be so slight that unemployed workers are not motivated to accept a low-paid job. In order to avoid such an "employment trap", the social partners, together with the previousDehaene government and the current Verhofstadt