Belgium - 2012

Population: 10,712,000
Capital: Brussels
Trade union rights are not sufficiently protected in law or practice. Employers and the public authorities tried to prevent strikes. At least ten trade union representatives were dismissed. Four workers were injured in strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
pickets.

reported violations - 2012

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Background

On 6 December, after it seemed to have been on the verge of breaking up several times, the country formed a new government. Belgium’s political crisis was of unprecedented length: 18 months without a federal government since the 2010 legislative elections. The political leaders from the North and South, with the notable exception of the Flemish nationalists, finally succeeded in agreeing on a programme of important institutional reforms, and very severe austerity measures.

Trade union rights in law

Basic trade union rights are guaranteed, however there are some areas of concern. Workers have the right to form and join unions of their choice. While special protection is awarded to workers’ representatives on works councils and health and safety committees, freedom from anti-union discrimination anti-union discrimination Any practice that disadvantages a worker or a group of workers on grounds of their past, current or prospective trade union membership, their legitimate trade union activities, or their use of trade union services. Can constitute dismissal, transfer, demotion, harassment and the like.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework

is not adequately secured as union representatives are not fully protected against dismissal. Collective representation of workers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is not fully protected either, although the situation improved with the adoption of a law in 2008 which secured consultation and information rights for trade union representatives in SMEs.

The right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
is recognised, although there is no clear legal definition of this right. Civil courts have also weakened the right, in particular by restricting strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
pickets. An appeal was lodged in 2009 with the European Committee of Social Rights. Also in 2009, the Brussels Industrial Court refused to recognise the seriousness of the grounds for dismissing a delegate during a collective action. In the same judgement, the industrial court said that the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
was not limited to strikes as such but could cover other types of actions (occupations...).

In practice

Non-respect of the 2002 “gentlemen’s agreement” on the peaceful settlement of industrial disputes, right to strike flouted: Despite an informal agreement signed by the social partners social partners Unions and employers or their representative organisations. in 2002, aimed at encouraging conciliation conciliation An attempt by a neutral third party, a conciliator, to aid the settling of an industrial dispute by improving communications, offering advice and interpreting issues to bring the disputing parties to a point where they can reconcile their differences. The conciliator does not take as active a role as a mediator or an arbitrator.

See arbitration, mediation
and mediation mediation A process halfway between conciliation and arbitration, in mediation a neutral third party assists the disputing parties in reaching a settlement to an industrial dispute by suggesting possible, non-binding solutions.

See arbitration, conciliation
over all other forms of dispute settlement, employers have often and abusively called for the courts to intervene, claiming an “absolute emergency”. Rather than enter into negotiation, enterprises file an ex parte application which results in the courts taking a decision before the workers have had an opportunity to plead their case. Heavy fines are foreseen if they ignore these rulings. Appeals are possible, but usually fail. As a general rule, the courts consider that it is not acceptable to prevent employees or third parties gaining access to the workplace, regardless of whether violence is used in doing so, but judges have issued “preventive” orders even when there is nothing to indicate that such acts would be committed. Furthermore, if trade unions call off a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
, the courts consider that the dispute is settled and refuse to rule on the grounds for or possible infringement of the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
. The European Trade Union Confederation, ETUC, and the three national trade union centres ACLVB-CGSLB, CSC-ACV and FGTB-ABVV lodged a complaint with the European Committee of Social Rights against this undermining of the right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
.
Employers still free to dismiss union representatives by paying compensation: A special procedure must be respected when dismissing workers’ representatives on works councils and health and safety committees, failing which the workers’ representatives can ask for reinstatement. However, in practice, workers’ representatives are never reinstated. Employers prefer to pay out legal compensation, even large sums, rather than respect the special procedure or reinstate wrongfully dismissed workers’ representatives.
The tactics of the far right: On 28 February the Antwerp Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Employees National Centre (Landelijke Bediendenn Centrale in Dutch, LBC) in a case brought against it by a former union delegate removed from his union post. In 2004 he stood as a candidate for the Flemish regional elections, for the far-right party Vlaams Belang. Following an initial judgement that invalidated his removal, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the CNE-LBC’s decision, arguing that the party’s programme was clearly anti-union. On 8 July, a trade union with close links to the party, the Vlaamse Solidaire Vakbond (VSV), was created with a view to breaking what it saw as the “illegitimate” monopoly of the three main Belgian trade union centres in the 2012 “social elections” (to elect the members of the works council works council 1. A body elected to represent the interests of workers within a workplace through communication and consultation with the employer e.g. concerning working conditions and health and safety issues. 2. A joint council composed of representatives of both workers and the employer for workplace-level discussions on matters of common interest. and the workplace health and safety committee).
Binding pay rise ceilings restrict collective bargaining: After two trade union organisations rejected the text on the multi-sector agreement, the caretaker government set the “wage standard” (a ceiling on pay rises over a two year period) at 0.0% for 2011 and 0.3% in 2012. On 1 July the Employment Minister confirmed that the standard was binding, that its application would be checked and that infringements would be penalised. Sectoral and company collective agreements cannot therefore grant pay rises above this standard, on pain of being invalidated. In May, two new collective agreements in the stone quarrying industry were rejected on these grounds. In the view of the Liege branch of the FGTB, which negotiated the agreements with the employers, “the Belgian tradition of social dialogue social dialogue Discussion and co-operation between the social partners on matters of common interest, such as economic and social policy. Involves participation by the state where tripartism is practice. is being trampled underfoot”.
Facing the risk of a negative interpretation of the EU Agency Workers Directive: With a view to the transposition of the European Temporary Agency Workers Directive, employers organisations argued that collective agreements which restrict the use of temporary workers are in breach of the directive. If the government agrees with their argument, the transposition of the directive into national law could lead to an upsurge in temporary contracts to the detriment of permanent workers and of the right of trade unions to bargain collectively, if temporary agency work is de facto no longer considered a specific subject for collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
.
Proposals for not very social reforms: Major socio-economic reforms were announced at the time of the governmental agreement. They included the acceleration of the degressive sliding scale of unemployment benefits and further restrictions on access to early retirement. The agreement implicitly restricts the possibility for public sector employees to take strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
action, particularly prison guards and railway workers, not excluding the introduction of a minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework
requirement. There are also the six socio-economic “recommendations” of the European Commission, notably the reform of the salary indexation system and of the legal retirement age, as well as the rules on facilitating access to the labour market. Employers seized on these recommendations as a pretext to demand their immediate application.

Violations

Strikers attacked: During the 4 March general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
a lorry driver from the F. Michel Logistics company in the Houdeng industrial zone tried to force his way through a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
picket, injuring two trade unionists, one of whom had to be hospitalised. In Bruges a bus driver also inflicted light injuries on two trade unionists at a barricade.
Public authorities try to ban strike : On 22 April, the mayor of the Uccle commune decided to prohibit a public sector union from forming a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
picket outside a school on the grounds that classes were resuming after a school holiday. The union challenged the decision which was finally overturned by the highest administrative court.
Illegal wage penalties at Arcelor Mittal in Gand: During an industrial dispute industrial dispute A conflict between workers and employers concerning conditions of work or terms of employment. May result in industrial action. at Arcelor Mittal in Gand over the negotiation of a new collective agreement, staff took part in go-slow go-slow A form of industrial action whereby the workers deliberately reduce their pace of work in order to restrict output.

See work-to-rule
strikes in September, stopping work every quarter of an hour. Management – ignoring the fact that a mediator had been appointed by the Labour Ministry – reacted by docking the workers’ wages for every quarter of an hour the strikers stopped work. The unions challenged these penalties, which were not provided for in the company’s employment regulations. An agreement was reached on incorporating wage penalties into the new collective agreement, of no more than the equivalent of a quarter of an hour’s work.
Attempts at strike-breaking in the chemical industry :

On 17 October, during a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
at the Ineos chemical company in Feluy, the governor requisitioned nearly half the staff to work, on what it described as tasks in the “public interest” . The unions appealed to the Council of State which ruled in their favour, on the grounds that a requisition requisition To issue back-to-work orders. can only be made if there is a situation requiring work in the public interest.

On 26 October, during a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
at the Mac Bride company in Estaimpuis, specialising in cleaning products, the management assigned workers to production tasks that had been left by striking workers, ignoring the fact that they did not have the right skills for the tasks in question.

Discouraging protest: On 28 October, six students who interrupted an election meeting by the group of European liberals were handed one month suspended sentences for “inciting rebellion” (despite the completely peaceful nature of their protest). No trade unionists were involved, but the verdict could discourage organisations, trade unions and their members who wish to take protest action and could contribute to criminalising dissident opinion.
Anti-union strategies in the run up to workplace elections : Several press articles, not just press releases from employers organisations, frequently mentioned the possibility of dismissing workers and their representatives before January 2012 in order to avoid having to hold “social elections” (to elect the members of the works council works council 1. A body elected to represent the interests of workers within a workplace through communication and consultation with the employer e.g. concerning working conditions and health and safety issues. 2. A joint council composed of representatives of both workers and the employer for workplace-level discussions on matters of common interest. and the workplace health and safety committee) or to limit the (larger) amounts that would have to be paid in compensation when dismissing workers’ delegates on works councils and health and safety committees. False information was also spread concerning the possibility of allowing trade union representatives to take early retirement.
Smear campaigns against striking workers : During the week before a large demonstration by the three Belgian national trade union centres, an employers’ organisation employers’ organisation A body of employers associated for the collective protection and promotion of their interests. Can engage in collective bargaining with trade unions or trade union organisations. (UNIZO) launched the website www.wewontstrike.be (original version: www.wijstakenniet.be) in which it spoke of the irresponsibility of the trade unions in calling a general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike
during an economic and financial crisis and of the fact that by their action the unions were compromising Belgium’s economic recovery.
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