EIRO 2005 ANNUAL REVIEW- Belgium

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1. Political data

No elections were held in Belgium in 2005. The current federal government is composed of Liberals (the (French-speaking) Reform Party (Mouvement réformateur, MR) and Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten, VLD)) and Socialists (the (French-speaking) Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, PS) and the Flemish Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP)). The next federal elections are set for 2007.

2. Collective bargaining update

In 2005, two collective agreements were negotiated at national level. The first (n° 85, dated 9 November 2005) concerns teleworking (see BE0512301N). The second (n° 86, 21 December 2005) introduces and determines for the years 2005-2006 the conditions for supplemental compensation paid to certain older workers made redundant (i.e. workers whose sector of activity is not covered by an ad hoc joint committee). Two existing collective labour agreements were also supplemented. Agreement n° 17 (19 December 1974) on compensation for older workers made redundant (increase in amount of additional compensation) and Agreement n° 46 (23 March 1990) setting out measures for night work (increase in amount of additional compensation).

The following tables give an overview of the collective agreements concluded at sectoral and company level.

Source: Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue (SPF Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale/FOD Werkgelegenheid, Arbeid en Sociaal Overleg)

Source: CNT/NAR

• Pay: The inter-branch agreement 2005/2006 sets a guideline standard of 4.5% for pay increases for 2005 and 2006.
• Working time: Apart from the legislation on overtime (Moniteur Belge 19 July 2005, see point 3: Legislative developments), no noteworthy changes occurred at inter-branch level.
• Job security: On 25 February 2005, the Council of Ministers approved a royal decree amending a royal decree from 1992 (AR/CIR 92) on employers' contributions and premiums for pensions or supplemental pensions. It sets the limits and conditions for the deductibility as professional expenses of employers' contributions and premiums paid under a pension regulation or a supplemental pension scheme.
• Equal opportunities and diversity issues, including efforts to close pay inequalities: The Belgian government released special funds to combat youth unemployment and to facilitate the access of the disabled to the job market. The country's public powers have tried to attract more people into the job market by increasing parental leave benefit.
• Training and skills development: From the inter-branch standpoint, the recent opinion of the National Labour Council reviews the progress of measures agreed by the social partners in October 2003 (more information can be found on http://www.cnt-nar.be/AVIS/avis-1527.pdf). That institution is currently preparing a report to evaluate the implementation of sectoral vocational training structures. At sectoral level, the collective agreement 2004-2005 on training, concluded under Joint Committee 218 (for workers not coming under any other active joint committee), entitles all workers in this sector to four days of training in the course of the two-year period (2005-2006). For more information, see http://www.sfonds218.be. At political and regional level, the different governments launched large-scale measures in 2005 to promote vocational training. The Walloon Region's Marshall Plan (BE0510304F) makes available a budget of EUR 160 million to promote training for job seekers, language training and training in sectors with a shortage of qualified workers. The trade unions welcomed the Plan, calling for more guarantees on the inclusion of a real debate on social problems in the Walloon Region. On the Flemish side, the Regional government, in cooperation with the social partners, has already taken initiatives to encourage the use of training with the aim of developing jobs (training grants, etc.) (BE0506303F).

3. Legislative developments

• Following on from the PhARAon action plan to combat accidents at work (BE0404302F), the Royal Decree of 24 February 2005 (published in the Moniteur belge on 14 March 2005) gives effect to a number of measures. The new regulation defines a serious accident as one occurring at the workplace itself, causing death or permanent or temporary injury, and meeting certain criteria. The injury must be directly related to an event that departs from the normal work process or to an agency in connection with the accident. A temporary injury is considered a serious accident if it is of a very specific nature, for example, a fracture or burn resulting in several days' incapacity for work. Concerning the reaction to a serious accident, an investigation must be conducted immediately and a report transmitted within 10 days to the Occupational Welfare Inspection (Direction générale Contrôle du bien-être au travail du Service public fédéral Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale Contrôle du bien-être au travail/Algemene Directie Toezicht op het Welzijn op het Werk van de FOD Werkgelegenheid, Arbeid en Sociaal Overleg) (inspection). (For normal occupational accidents, with effect from 1 January 2006, the employer has eight days to turn in a declaration instead of 10, in accordance with the Decree of 3 July 2005, published in the Moniteur belge of 11 August 2005).

• A Royal Decree of 19 January 2005, entering into force on 1 January 2006, prohibits smoking at the workplace (although a smokers' room may be provided).

• A Royal Decree published in the Moniteur belge of 28 July improves the conditions for career breaks for parental leave or for leave to provide palliative care to a family member. The main changes are as follows. For single workers, in case of serious illness of a child under age 16, the maximum period of full-time leave rises from 12 to 24 months. For parental leave, it is possible to take leave for the birth of a child up to the child's 6th birthday (rather than 4th). Finally, the benefit is increased (with a maximum of EUR 100).

• The law of 3 July 2005 (Moniteur belge of 19 July 2005) laying down various provisions on social dialogue (Art.16 to 18) establishes the possibility for workers to waive compensatory time for certain overtime hours. These new provisions originate in the draft inter-branch agreement 2005-2006 (BE0502302F). Workers opting to waive the compensatory time will receive, at the end of the pay period, normal pay of 100% plus the legal supplementary payment of 50 or 100%. Workers opting to take compensatory time will receive, at the end of the pay period, the legal supplementary payment of 50 or 100%, the normal wages being paid when the overtime hours are taken as leave. More information is available on http://meta.fgov.be/pa/paa/framesetfrbb02.htm

• The law of 3 July 2005 (Moniteur belge of 19 July 2005) laying down various provisions on social dialogue extends to companies with an average of between 10 and 19 workers during the preceding calendar year the obligation to make redundancy payments provided they have been declared bankrupt prior to the shutdown. Redundancy payments are granted under the same conditions as those applicable for workers in companies with an average of at least 20 workers during the preceding calendar year. For more information, consult http://meta.fgov.be/pa/paa/framesetfrbb02.htm

4. The organisation and role of the social partners

There were no social elections in 2005. The Belgian system of collective bargaining did not undergo any major changes in its operating mode. The structures of trade union and employers' organisations remained stable, with the exception of a change at the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV), where a number of trade union federations were placed under a single banner, CSC-Education. These include: Federation of Christian Teachers (Fédération des instituteurs chrétiens, FIC), Christian Federation of Denominational Secondary and Teacher-training Education Personnel (Centrale chrétienne du personnel de l'enseignement moyen et normal libre, CEMNL), Christian Federation of Technical Education Personnel (Centrale chrétienne du personnel de l'enseignement technique, CCPET) and the Christian Union of Education Personnel (Union chrétienne des membres du personnel de l'enseignement officiel, UCEO).

5. Industrial action

• After 104 days of strike, the labour conflict (stemming from a restructuring plan) at AGC Automotive in Fleurus ended in March 2005.

• For the first time in quite a while, the inter-branch agreement (for 2005-2006) was not signed by all the parties to the negotiations. The government decided to implement it nonetheless (BE0502302F). Following that decision, sectoral negotiations have not always been easy (BE0507302F).

• Prison officers voiced their discontent through a number of strikes (BE0504303F).

• The German multinational BASF cut a large number of jobs at one of its plants (BE0508302N).

• Negotiations between the social partners and the federal government on retirement and refinancing of the social security system resulted in a general strike led by the Socialist union alone (BE0510303F), followed shortly thereafter by a general strike led in a united front by the three trade union organisations.

6. Employee participation

Transposition of the Directive on national information and consultation rights (EU0204207F) is still in a stalemate owing to differences in interpretation of the text by the social partners. The opinion of the National Labour Council (n° 1508 of 23 March 2005, http://www.cnt-nar.be/AVIS/avis-1508.pdf) reflects this state of affairs. The social partners disagree on every point. For employers, the Belgian provisions comply with the Directive because there are information/consultation bodies in enterprises with more than 50 workers and because the Directive allows some margin on the distinction between establishment and enterprise.

The European Company Statute (EU0206202F) was implemented in 2004 through the National Labour Council's collective agreement no 84 of 6 October 2004. A few outstanding points had to be finalised through a law completing transposition of the measure, in particular provisions on confidentiality and referrals to courts. The law of 12 August 2005, published on 7 September in the Moniteur belge, finalised the transposition process.

There were no significant developments in 2005 on European Works Councils.

7. Labour migration

Regarding the Bolkestein Directive, Belgium's official position has not changed since November 2004. That position makes the country-of-origin and right of establishment principles conditional on the service provider's obligation to abide by certain regulations identical to those in the State where the service is actually provided (e.g.: access to an activity, controls on the protection of workers, consumers, the environment, etc., and guarantees on the administrative capacities of the country of origin to monitor these points). The creation of a working group on unfair competition in the construction sector is an example of the monitoring of such guarantees, in particular for workers from the new Member States (see BE0509303F).

Belgium maintains that this Directive should not apply to social, educational or cultural services guaranteed and financed by the public powers. Although officially the Belgian position is to wait the European Parliament's reworking of the Services Directive, the French Community's request for the total exclusion of all educational services revived ideological oppositions between the different federal bodies. Indeed, the federal government and the Flemish Region government are opposed to a stricter Belgian stance.

8. Corporate social responsibility

There were no significant new developments in 2005 on corporate social responsibility in Belgium. The actions under way for around the past decade continued, however, in particular through information and action campaigns on environmental protection and mobility. Some Belgian companies are taking the initiative of encouraging positive actions to promote sustainable development.

9. New forms of work

The National Labour Council's collective agreement on teleworking (no 85, 9 November 2005) was signed by the social partners. The agreement, which transposes the European framework agreement signed on 16 July 2002, clarifies the legal status of teleworking in Belgium. For a critique of agreement n° 85, see http://www.tijdvoortelewerk.be/Communique-BTA-CCT-FR-Final.pdf

The sectoral collective agreement for 2005-2006 in the temporary employment sector was concluded on 11 October 2005. The agreement essentially provides for an increase in the end-of-year bonus for 2006. The additional social benefits in force in the temporary employment sector will also remain valid until at least 30 June 2007. Lastly, certain provisions on safety are also included (job description, right to information, safety requirements, etc.).

10. Other relevant developments

The law of 10 August 2005 (Moniteur belge 7/09/05-26/10/05) introduces certain legal measures in support of collective agreement no 84 on the involvement of workers in the European Company. These include legislative protection for the creation of a special bargaining body, representative body and procedures for the involvement of workers in the European Company (Council Directive 2001/86/EC of 8 October 2001). For additional information, consult http://meta.fgov.be/pa/paa/framesetfr00.htm

11. Outlook

Political debate in Belgium is concentrating for the moment on reform of the pension system. The epilogue to the many stormy debates of 2005 is expected in 2006.

Local elections will also be held in 2006. (Alexandre Chaidron and Cécile Arnould, Institut des sciences du travail, Université catholique de Louvain)