The unions are opposed to the centralisation plan at Fortis

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In both Flanders and Wallonia, union representatives of the employees of the banking group Fortis are organising action against a plan to centralise various administrative departments.

In November 2005, the Fortis group had announced a restructuring plan intended to centralise various departments of the banking and insurance firm. The impact on employment had been estimated as being 1,200 jobs, or 10% of employees. In practical terms, the accounting departments in Liège and Louvain, the transfer scanning services in Charleroi and Ghent, the inheritance departments in Charleroi and Liège will have to move to Brussels and the inheritance planning department at Ghent will be shared between Antwerp and Brussels. (see also BE0502303N)

The workers in the various departments, concerned by this restructuring, have started taking action as from the beginning of the year. Demonstrations on a joint union front - National Federation of White-Collar Workers (Centrale Nationale des Employés/Landelijke Bedienden Centrale, CNE/LBC), Belgian Union of White-Collar Staff, Technicians and Managers (Syndicat des Employés, Techniciens et Cadres de Belgique, SETCa) and Federation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique/Algemene Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België, CGSLB/ACLVB) - have taken place, particularly in the streets of (on the 9th January), in Charleroi (on the 17th January) and at Louvain (on the 26th January). On each occasion the protests were against the Fortis management’s intention to centralise the regional administrative services. 'We consider this to be an absurd decision. We do not understand how Fortis could hope to create added value by proceeding with this. The work carried out by these people can be done just as well in the regional offices. Having to move would reduce the motivation of the workers and their performance would fall as a result' explained Roger Van Vlasselaer (SETCa) during the demonstration in Louvain.

In Charleroi, the joint union front considers that Fortis quite simply wants eliminate its headquarters in Charleroi, where the trade unions note that there has already been a reduction from 500 workers in 2000 to soon to be 184, when the credit, country and inheritance planning departments have relocated to Brussels. They say that the intention is to be able to justify the closing of this headquarters in the near future, when it can be shown to be unprofitable.

In Liège, where the banking sector still employs some 2,500 people, the CNE is afraid that 'in the long-term, all departments will be restructured. There is no direct loss of jobs, but people will not be replaced. So, young people will find it more difficult to find a job'. Having exhausted all forms of concertation within the enterprise and convinced that the maintenance of these jobs is a major issue for the Liège region, the unions decided to appeal to the political representatives. 'When we raise this with the management and when we put forward proposals, no-one listens to us', say the Fortis unions. If no guarantee as to maintenance of regional employment levels is given by Fortis, and by the other banking organisations involved, the unions envisage having recourse to more hard line measures.

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