Trade unions in Belgium are divided between competing confederations, which have clear political traditions. The two largest, CSC/ACV and the FGTB/ABVV, are linked to the Christian and socialist movements respectively, while the smaller CGSLB/ACLVB is linked to the liberals. Despite this the unions are able to co-operate, and around half the workforce is unionised – with union membership growing.

Figures from the unions themselves indicate that there are 3.4 million union members in Belgium. However, this may be something of an overstatement, and a study on union membership in 2012 suggested that the actual figure might be around 10% lower.[1] In addition a large number of the unemployed belong to unions (unemployment benefits are normally paid out through the unions) and many workers retain their union membership after they retire. The same study found that on average, between 2001 and 2010, 31.1% of the members of the main confederations were not in work. These factors mean that the number of employed trade union members is lower than 3.4 million. Figures from the independent ICTWSS database of union membership put union density in Belgium at 52.8% in 2016.[2]

There are two main trade union confederations in Belgium: the CSC/ACV from the Christian social tradition, with 1,571,058 members and the socialist-linked FGTB/ABVV, with 1,535,308 (both 2016). There is also the smaller liberal union confederation, the CGSLB/ACLVB with 296,617 members (2017). These figures all come from the unions themselves.[3] Because of their broad support these three confederations have the status of “representative” unions. (Legislation providing a clearer definition of how the “most representative” unions are to be identified came into effect in December 2009.) As a result they can sign agreements and present candidates in works council elections. There is also a body for supervisors and managers CNC/NCK with less than 20,000 members, which has limited rights to represent this group of workers.

One indication of support is the number of seats won and votes cast in the four-yearly elections for works councils and health and safety committees. In the 2016 elections for works councils, where the threshold is 100 employees, the CSC/ACV won 55.8% of the seats (51.0% of the votes), the FGTB/ABVV 33.9% (35.0% of the votes), the CGSLB/ACLVB 8.7% (12.2% of the votes) and the managers’ CNC/NCK 1.0% (0.8% of the votes). The figures for the elections to the health and safety committees, where the threshold is 50 employees, are similar, with the CSC/ACV winning 58.0% of the seats (51.8% of the votes), the FGTB/ABVV gaining 33.6% (35.8% of the votes), the CGSLB/ACLVB 8.3% (12.4% of the votes).[4]

One special feature of industrial relations in Belgium is the divide between the French-speaking and Flemish or Dutch-speaking communities/regions, which affects all aspects of Belgian society. Employment law is still decided on a national level but the division between the communities has an impact on the relationships between the unions. One other result is that all the bodies and organisations connected with industrial relations have both a French and a Flemish name and abbreviations.

Support for and membership of the two main confederations is not spread evenly across the country. Traditionally the CSC/ACV has its strongest support in the Flemish speaking north, the FGTB/ABVV in the French speaking south. Despite this the 2016 elections for both works councils and health and safety committees confirm that the CSC/ACV has more seats and votes for both bodies than the FGTB/ABVV in each of Belgium’s three regions: Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south and the capital, Brussels.

The two main confederations are organised in separate unions, and there are separate unions for manual and non-manual workers, reflecting the legal distinction which still persists in a number of areas – notably collective bargaining and employee representation. This is despite moves since 2013 to remove some differences in working conditions, such as notice and probation periods and sick pay. The liberal confederation (CGSLB/ACLVB), in contrast, does not have separate industrial unions.

For manual workers in the private sector unions in the two main confederations are primarily organised on an industrial basis, although there have been a number of mergers in recent years. The result is that the CSC/ACV now only has four unions for private sector manual workers, covering construction and energy, metal and textiles, food and services, and transport and communication. The position in the FGTB/ABVV is similar, with separate unions for metal workers, food and catering workers and transport workers, as well as a general union (CG/AC) which organises workers across a wide range of sectors, including construction, agency workers and workers in social care. CG/AC is the largest union in the FGTB/ABVV with 428,000 members.

Private service workers are in separate unions in both confederations. In the FGTB/ABVV, this is SETCa/BBTK, which has 422,000 members. However, in CSC/ACV there are two separate unions covering non-manual workers in the private sector, one for Flemish and one for French-speaking workers. The Flemish union is the LBC-NVK, with 325,000 members. The equivalent French union is the CNE, with 170,000 members. In addition, both confederations have a union for workers in public services and the CSC/ACV also has two unions for teachers.

The CSC/ACV is more centralised than the FGTB/ABVV, where individual unions have considerable autonomy. For example, the CSC/ACV has a single central strike fund, while each FGTB/ABVV union has its own strike fund.

The three confederations come from very different traditions and have differing social and political links, reflecting the way that unions, mutual insurance associations, co-operatives, youth organisations and other groups were, at least in the past, divided into political camps or “pillars”.[5] The CSC/ACV is part of the Christian pillar, FGTB/ABVV belongs to the socialist tradition and the CGSLB/ACLVB is liberal. Despite these different political links the three confederations frequently work together successfully.

After a period when the unions were able to increase their membership – in total it rose by 13% between 2001 and 2010[6] – the last six years have been less positive, with the members of the three confederations together falling by 41,000 (1.2%) between 2010 and 2016, with the largest falls in the period 2014 to 2016. The CSC/ACV has been most affected by this decline, losing 93,942 members (5.6%), while both the FGTB/ABVV and the CGSLB/ACLVB grew by 31,561 (2.1%) and 21,276 (7.8%). The CSC/ACV suggests that some of the fall is a result of changes in the methods of counting affiliates but accepts that there has been a real decline, linked to a fall in the numbers able to claim unemployment benefit. The FGTB/ABVV, which, after growing between 2010 and 2014, lost members in the period 2014 to 2016, also accepts that changes in the rules on unemployment benefit had an impact on membership numbers.[7]

Unions provide unemployment benefit and legal services to members in Belgium. In addition, unions are in many industries able to offer members an annual union bonus, paid by the employers, which can account for more than half the union’s annual subscription fees.

[1] Faniel, J. & Vandaele, K., 2012. Implantation syndicale et taux de syndicalisation (2000-2010), Courrier hebdomadaire, n°2146-2147

[2] J. Visser, ICTWSS Database. version 6.0. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS), University of Amsterdam. June 2019

[3] The figures for the FGTB/ABVV and CGSLB/ACLVB are from their websites: http://www.fgtb.be/documents/20702/273071/Membres+2017/72c3d41f-6ab3-4a53-b65d-91ecc3e59bcc; https://www.cgslb.be/fr/la-structure-et-les-chiffres-cles-de-la-cgslb#chiffres-cls The figure for the CSC/ACV is from a report published by the magazine Politique in June 2018: Syndicalisme : un mouvement social sous pression, June 2018 - N°104

[4] Résultats définitifs élections sociales 2016, Service public fédéral Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale, Tables CE and CPPT, B6 and D1 http://www.emploi.belgique.be/defaultTab.aspx?id=45485 (Accessed 27.09.18)

[5] Jean Faniel, Corinne Gobin et David Paternotte, Les mouvements sociaux en Belgique, entre pilarisation et dépilarisation, Les @nalyses du CRISP posted 6 December 2017, www.crisp.be

[6] Faniel, J. & Vandaele, K., 2012. Implantation syndicale et taux de syndicalisation (2000-2010), Courrier hebdomadaire, n°2146-2147

[7] Les syndicats souffrent de l’érosion de leur base d’affiliés, Pascal Lorent, Le Soir, 7 Juin 2018

A national agreement sets the key elements of pay and conditions every two years and this agreement itself is tightly constrained by legislation limiting pay increases to forecast pay costs in Belgium’s neighbours. With automatic pay indexation linked to inflation, negotiators have only limited room for manoeuvre.

The framework

Collective bargaining in Belgium is highly structured with:

• a central level at the top covering the whole of the private sector;
• an industrialindustry-level bargaining beneath, covering specific industrial sectors; and
• company-level negotiations (in some companies) at the bottom.

In each case the lower level can only agree improvements on what has been negotiated at the level above and the agreements are binding.

This structure means that the proportion of private sector employees covered by collective bargaining is high. A report by Eurofound using figures from the Belgian employment services (SPF/WAD) estimated coverage at 96% in 2014.[1]

In the public sector, negotiation or consultation with the unions results in so-called protocols, which although not legally binding like private sector collective agreements, have a moral and political force.[2]

The state potentially plays a major role in collective bargaining. A 1996 law allows it to link pay increases to the forecast pay trends in Belgium’s neighbours, Germany, France and the Netherlands, in order to maintain the country’s competitiveness. The national level negotiations take place in the context of an official technical report which sets out this forecast, and the government has the power to intervene if the two sides cannot agree on a figure within this limit.

In recent years, since the economic crisis, the room for negotiation on pay at national level has been very limited and it has been difficult to reach agreement with all three confederations on what is known as an inter-professional agreement (AIP/IPA). Negotiations at this level take place every two years, and the two-year agreement signed in January 2017 for 2017-18, which provided for a 1.1% in pay costs on top of automatic pay indexation linked to prices (see below), is the only one to be agreed since the agreement for 2009-10.

However, this does not mean that this national level of bargaining was unimportant in the periods when there was no agreement, as in these years the government set the terms by law. In 2013-14 it imposed a pay freeze unilaterally, and in the other years it imposed the terms of the deals which had been accepted by only some of the three confederations (just the CSC/ACV in 2011-12, and just CSC/ACV and CGSLB/ACLVB in 2015-16 and 2019-20).

As well as two-yearly national-level bargaining on pay and other issues (see below), unions and employers also meet in two national advisory councils. These are the Central Economic Council (CCE/CRB) and the National Labour Council (CNT/ NAR). Both have an advisory role in relation to the government and in the National Labour Council the two sides can also negotiate cross-industry deals (although this is not the forum where the two-year national deal is negotiated). Recent agreements reached in the National Labour Council have covered higher employer contributions to travel to work costs, an increase in the overtime limit from 100 to 120 hours a year and new arrangements for older workers cutting their hours (all 2019), temporary working and working time credits (2018) and night working (2017). The agreement on the national minimum wage (see below) is also negotiated in the National Labour Council. As well as these national consultative bodies there are also similar social and economic councils in each of Belgium’s three regions: SERV in Flanders, CESW in Wallonia and CESRBC/ESRBHW in Brussels.

Who negotiates and when?

Negotiations at national level – normally setting a two-year binding framework for pay and other issues – take place in the so-called “Group of 10”. The five members on the union side are made up of two representatives of the CSC/ACV, two from the FGTB/ABVV, and one from the CGSLB/ACLVB.

At industry level, negotiations are carried on by the unions and the employers’ federations meeting in joint committees, which cover the whole of the private sector, with sub-committees for smaller industrial groupings. At the start of 2018 there were 101 joint committees and 66 sub-committees.[3] Each employer is assigned to one of these committees or sub-committees.

The agreements are binding on all employers who belong to the employers’ federations that sign these agreements and they are almost always extended by royal decree to all the employers in the industry concerned. Where this happens, the agreements reached in these joint committees and sub-committees are binding on all employers (and therefore their employees) in the industries they cover.

At company level, the trade union delegations together with the local union organisations negotiate with individual employers. However, agreements are only valid when signed by a trade union official from outside the workplace. The number of company agreements has increased in recent years, and currently around a third of companies have their own agreements, although they may deal with topics other than wages.[4] It is also important to note that the relative importance of industry and company bargaining varies across the private sector. In some industries, such as construction, transport and hospitality, the industry level is crucial and company-level bargaining only takes place in a few very large companies. In others areas, such as metal manufacturing, industry-level bargaining provides a framework for company negotiations.[5]

The normal cycle of negotiations is two-yearly with negotiations at national level being followed by industry-level negotiations and then company-level negotiations.

The subject of the negotiations

At national level, the negotiations between the two sides cover a much wider range of topics than normal pay and conditions issues, including job creation measures, training and childcare provision. Pay rates, with the exception of the minimum wage, are normally dealt with at industry and company level, and industry-level agreements will often include job classification and grading structures. However, the extent of pay increases is decided at national level.

Unlike in most other European countries, pay in Belgium is indexed; it rises in line with prices. However, the mechanics of indexation vary from industry to industry in line with the appropriate collective agreement. In 1993 the government intervened to take a range of items – tobacco, alcohol, petrol, diesel and the impact of taxes on energy products – out of the index. As a result there is a gap between the index used for pay rises and the actual increase in the cost of living.

Belgium has a national minimum wage, which is fixed by agreement between the unions and the employers’ associations at the national level negotiating in the National Labour Council. The amount also rises in line with the government’s revised price index.

There is some evidence that the strict limits in pay increases set by the national level agreements has led to increased use of bonus payments negotiated at company level.[6]

[1] Working life in Belgium by Jean Van Oycke and Guy Van Gyes, Institution: Institut des Sciences du Travail – UCL, Published 27 July, 2018 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/country/belgium#collective-bargaining

[2] See Collectively agreed wages in Belgium: indicators and trends; by Sem Vanderkerckhove and Guy van Gyes, HIVA-KU Leuven, 2012 https://hiva.kuleuven.be/resources/docs/vorming/20121129_CAWIEpaper_Belgium.pdf (Accessed 16.04.2015)

[3] See http://www.emploi.belgique.be/defaultTab.aspx?id=505

[4] See Collectively agreed wages in Belgium: indicators and trends; by Sem Vanderkerckhove and Guy van Gyes, HIVA-KU Leuven, 2012 https://hiva.kuleuven.be/resources/docs/vorming/20121129_CAWIEpaper_Belgium.pdf

[5] Opposites attract? Decentralisation tendencies in the most organised collective bargaining system in Europe: Belgium in the period 2012–2016, by Guy Van Gyes, Dries Van Herreweghe, Ine Smits and Sem Vandekerckhove (in Multi-employer bargaining under pressure: decentralisation trends in five European countries, edited by Salvo Leonardi and Roberto Pedersini, ETUI, 2018)

[6] Ibid

Belgium has structures at workplace level representing both all employees and trade unionists, but, with only trade unions able to nominate to the works council, the key body is the union delegation. It is the union delegation which negotiates key issues with management, although the works council has extensive information and consultation rights. The works council also has decision-making powers in some areas.

Workplace representation in the private sector in Belgium runs through two separate channels. The works council (CE in French/ OR in Flemish) represents the whole workforce, although it is only elected in larger workplaces (above 100 employees). The trade union delegation (DS/SD) represents trade unionists. There are also separate bodies for health and safety (CPPT/CPBW) elected by the whole of the workforce, provided there are more than 50 employees. Where there are between 50 and 100 employees, these health and safety committees also have information and consultation rights on economic and social issues. These rights were introduced in 2008 to give effect to the EU directive on information and consultation (2002/14/EC).

In practice, particularly at smaller workplaces, the individuals involved will often be the same in both the works council and the trade union delegation. The two bodies have different functions, but generally it is the trade union delegation which plays the central role, particularly in workplaces where there is conflict with the employer.

Both elements of the system of representation have a clear legal basis. The powers and operation of works councils are set out in a law on the organisation of the economy first passed in 1948 and subsequently amended. The legal position of the trade union delegation, on the other hand, is determined by a series of legally binding collective agreements, with a national level framework agreement (known as CCT/CAO No. 5) signed in 1971 and agreements for individual industrial sectors reached later. These agreements cover the vast majority of employers, although the details vary.

The position in the public services is broadly similar with a structure of consultation committees and parallel negotiating committees ranging from the local level to the top of the authority concerned. The names vary but at the local level the consultation committees are known as the Comité de concertation de base/Basisoverlegcomité. The structure of committees with negotiating rights covers many of the same issues which are negotiated by the trade union delegation in the private sector.

The law on works councils is enforced through regular checks by the labour inspectorate, although the fact that it only applies where there are more than 100 employees means that many employees are not covered by works councils, although they may have a health and safety committee or a trade union delegation.

Figures from the 2013 European Company Survey show that, on average, 54% of all Belgian workplaces with more than 10 employees had some form of employee representation, well above the EU28 average of 32%. For workplaces with 50 or more employees – the threshold for a health and safety committee – the figures are much higher, 82% for workplaces with between 50 and and 249 employees and 98% for those with more than 250.[1]

Numbers and structure

Works councils should be set up in all workplaces with at least 100 employees and, in companies with between 50 and 100 employees, the health and safety committee (CPPT/CPBW) has some of the information and consultation rights exercised by the works council in larger companies. Where there are workplaces in a company which individually employ fewer than these thresholds but together go beyond them, they must be linked together so that a works council or health and safety committee can be established.

The works council has both elected employee members and representatives of the employer, although there can never be more employer than employee representatives.

Employee representatives on the works council are elected on the following basis:

In calculating whether a workplace is above the threshold for a works council or a health and safety committee the employer must count all employees and apprentices with a contract of employment, including temporary workers. There is no age or service requirement. The calculation includes senior managers (providing they have a contract of employment and are not in overall charge of the company), home workers and students. Agency workers must also be included, unless they are replacing staff whose contracts have been suspended. Part-time workers, if they work less than three-quarters of the normal working week, are counted as half an employee for the calculation.

Manual and non-manual employees should be represented in proportion to their number in the workforce (there are separate lists for the two groups) and separate representation within the works council is guaranteed for young workers (aged under 25) and for senior management, once their number reaches a certain level: 25 for young workers; 15 for senior managers.

The works council is chaired by the senior representative of the employer, while the secretary comes from the employee delegates. The works council must meet at least once a month and the employee members have the right to meet separately before the meeting.

The numbers in the trade union delegation as well as the thresholds for setting one up depend, like all the other regulations governing its operations, on the legally binding agreement reached for the particular sector. There are wide variations. Some agreements have no thresholds, others set them at 10, 50 or 75 employees and in some cases the agreements also stipulate a minimum trade union presence. The number of members typically ranges from two to perhaps eight depending on the number of workers, with a workplace of 300 employees normally having a trade union delegation of four or five.

Trade union delegations consist entirely of trade unionists, with the different unions in the workplace represented according to their relative strength. Normally members from different unions (usually two) meet separately before the joint meeting.

Tasks and rights

The role of the works council is essentially to be informed about a range of economic and financial issues and to be informed and consulted about employment and personnel issues. It also has some limited decision-making powers, primarily over personnel issues.

The law lays down rules on how often different types of information should be provided. On economic and financial issues, the works council’s rights are essentially limited to being informed. Management must provide a range of basic information on the general position of the company every four years, when the works council is newly elected. The legislation (a Royal Decree from November 1973) provides that 10 issues must be covered in this way. These are the company’s:

• legal status;
• competitive position in the market;
• production and productivity;
• financial structure;
• budget and price calculations;
• staff costs;
• programme and future prospects;
• research programme;
• public aid received; and
• organisation chart.

This information is updated on an annual basis, and it must be presented as a written report to the works council each year, together with the financial results, a report from the management and a report from the auditor. In addition, every three months the management must present the current position and indicate how it diverges from its plans. Information on new economic or financial developments that could seriously affect the business must be presented to the works council without delay. The works council can also ask for the help of the auditor to explain and analyse the information it has received.

The situation is similar for information on employment. Each year the company must also provide the works council with a report setting out:

• the structure of employment in the company (numbers of employees broken down by sex, age, occupational grouping, department and employment status);
• the development of employment over the previous period (numbers leaving, joining and changing their position within the company, including details of whether the departures were voluntary or compulsory, and information on the number of staff employed on a temporary basis – either directly or as agency staff); and
• forecasts for employment in the future (indicating whether numbers are expected to increase, decline or remain unchanged, and, if employment is expected to fall, the employer’s plans to deal with this).

This information should also be updated every three months, with the employer required to inform the works council in advance if important employment decisions, such as collective redundancies or major recruitment programmes are planned, where the works council also has consultation rights (see below).

Both in relation to economic and financial issues and to employment, the information must be provided in a way which is coherent and comparable with previous material, and there must be an opportunity for an exchange of views and for the works council to be able to make proposals.

In other areas the works council has more specific consultation rights. These cover:

• work organisation;
• working conditions and performance – where the works council must be consulted on any proposed changes; personnel policies – such as recruitment arrangements, induction procedures and communication systems; and
• qualifications and training – including the qualifications required for specific posts and training measures.

There are also specific consultation rights for the works council covering:

• night working;
• equal opportunities (where there should be an annual report on the situation, with proposals for improvement);
• the gender pay gap (where the employer must provide a detailed report on the situation and a plan of action every two years);
• policies on drugs and alcohol; and
• the employment of temporary workers (where the works council must be consulted both on the company’s general use of agency workers and specifically when contracts are renewed).

The works council also has specific information and consultation rights in the areas of new technology, surveillance (both electronic and physical) and data protection. Three months before the introduction of new technology likely to have a significant impact on employment or working conditions, the employer must inform the works council in writing of the nature of the technology, the reasons for its introduction, its likely impact and the timing of its implementation. There must then be a consultation, which may also involve the trade union delegation and the health and safety committee, over the measures that need to be taken, including retraining measures, where necessary. Information and consultation with the works council is also required where surveillance cameras are introduced, and their use needs to be proportionate and is only permitted in certain limited circumstances. The same procedures apply, where workers, in order to prevent theft, are searched or monitored in some other way, when leaving work. Finally, the employer must inform and consult the works council on how private communications and data will be monitored on company networks. In each of these four cases, the procedures for informing and consulting the works council were established through legally binding collective agreements.

The works council must be informed and consulted about important structural modifications to the company, such as mergers, closures or business transfers, and there are specific requirements in relation to collective redundancies. Here the works council must be given a written report setting out:

• the reasons for the redundancy;
• the criteria to be used to choose those to be made redundant;
• the number and type of employees to be made redundant;
• the overall number and type of workers normally employed;
• the period over which redundancies are planned; and
• as well as the method used to calculate the compensation planned, over and above that foreseen by the law.

The aim of this report is to allow an exchange of views, with the aim of avoiding redundancies or reducing their number, or developing social measures to lessen their impact. There are also specific requirements to inform and consult the works council where the company is closed, has been transferred to the judicial authorities (in other words – it is in administration) or is bankrupt.

The main areas where the works council, which is a joint-employer/employee body, has decision-making powers are limited to specific personnel and working conditions issues. They include:

• fixing the dates of the annual holidays – these should take account both of the wishes of the employees and the needs of the company;
• setting the dates for individual days off (10 a year), if these have not been set in the appropriate collective agreement;
• introducing or changing works/company regulations;
• determining the arrangements for additional company pensions (although the decision to introduce them is one for the employer alone);
• setting the arrangements for paid time off for training;
• deciding on the circumstances under which private sector employees can make use of their right to reduce their working time by a half or four-fifths;
• approving the arrangements for the outplacement of workers who have been made redundant;
• setting the general criteria for redundancy and re-hiring; and
• the managementmanaging social benefits, including pension funds, as well as canteens and sports clubs.

As already noted, the works council also decides on the choice of the auditor.

In addition to these powers, the works council has a general power to monitor that the relevant social and employment legislation is being applied appropriately within the company.

The central role of the trade union delegation, on the other hand, is to negotiate new agreements and ensure that existing ones are kept to. The trade union delegation also deals with disputes between the employer and the workforce, both on an individual and collective basis.

It also has a right to inform the workforce about employment and trade union issues. These rights include distributing leaflets, holding meetings and being involved in the induction of new employees.

In addition, in workplaces with less than 50 employees, where there is no legal requirement for a health and safety committee, its function and those of the works council are taken on by the trade union delegation.

Overall, in terms of the different roles of the two bodies, the trade union delegation is the body which makes the demands and negotiates; the works council is the body which receives information and is consulted.

Election and term of office

Employee members of the works council are elected every four years by all employees at the workplace, with the same groups being able to vote as in the calculation of the threshold (see Numbers and structures above). In the seats for manual and non-manual workers and young workers (by far the biggest groups), only the three “representative” union confederations (CSC/ACV, FGTB/ABVV and CGSLB/ACLVB) can nominate candidates. In the seats for senior managers, candidates can also be nominated by the managers’ union CNC/NCK and by individual groups of managers within the companies, provided they represent at least 10% of the total. This is not the case for health and safety committees, where only the three representative confederations can nominate. The result is that all health and safety committee members and almost all works council members (98.5% in 2016[2]) are also members of the three confederations. The elections, which are conducted in line with detailed regulations, are seen as a key test of each confederation’s support.

Candidates must be employees or apprentices of the company (agency workers are not eligible) and must have at least six months’ service. They must be at least 18 years old (16 for those standing for the young workers’ seats) and they cannot be older than 65 (25 for young workers’ seats). Certain individuals cannot stand as candidates for either the works council or the health and safety committee. These are those in the two highest levels of the management of the company, health and safety advisers (conseiller en prevention/ preventieadviseur, and the so-called person of confidence (Personne de confiance bien-être psychosocial / Vertrouwenspersoon), whose role is to give support to fellow employees.

Trade unions are recommended to draw up their lists of candidates for the works council in a way that reflects the proportion of men and women in the workforce. In the 2016 elections, 37.1% of the elected works council members were women; in health and safety committees the figure was 39.4%.[3] Unions are also encouraged to present candidates who reflect the nationality of the workers in the workplace. However, there are no figures on how far this has been achieved.

The members of the trade union delegation can be either elected by the trade union members in the workplace or chosen by the local union organisation, depending on the collective agreement covering the sector. In most cases they are appointed by the trade union organisation. The term of office for the trade union delegation is also four years.

Protection against dismissal

Members of the works council can only be dismissed for “serious fault” – defined as a situation which makes any further professional relationship immediately impossible – or for specific economic or technical reasons, and in both cases the employer must go through a detailed procedure before the member can be dismissed.

Where the employer alleges that the works council member is guilty of “serious fault”, he or she must inform the individual, the nominating union and the labour court, explaining why a further professional relationship is impossible. The two sides then appear before the court and this is followed by an attempt to reach agreement through conciliation. If this fails, there is a further appearance before the court, which begins with a last attempt at conciliation, before the court reaches a decision on whether the dismissal is justified. There is also the possibility of an appeal.

In the case of a dismissal on economic or technical grounds, the only acceptable reasons are the closure of the entire company, the closure of a specific division or workplace, such as a workshop or a shop, or the dismissal of a whole category of employees, such as all the maintenance staff. In every case the employer must justify his or her reasons to the joint union/employer committee for the industry in which the company operates. The joint committee must reach its decision unanimously, although the employer can appeal to the labour court.

The protection applies to members of the works council and the health and safety committee, as well as members of the trade union delegation if it is exercising the powers of the health and safety committee because this committee does not exist. The protection also applies to replacement members, elected to take over from a full member unable to fulfil their responsibilities, and to candidates for these positions.

Before dismissing a member of the trade union delegation, the employer must normally inform both the delegation as a whole and the trade union involved, and there is the possibility of conciliation through a joint union-employer body. However, the exact position depends on the collective agreement for the sector.

Time off and other resources

The employer is required to provide adequate time and facilities for the works council to function effectively. Meetings of the works council are counted as work time and paid accordingly. The law also specifies that, at the start of each four year period and then once a year, the works council has the right to meet for at least eight hours, normally over several meetings, to discuss the basic and annual information on the business.

The amount of time off provided to the trade union delegation will depend on the size of the workforce. In a company with between 300 and 500 employees, it would be usual for three people to have full-time release from their normal duties.

In many larger companies, each trade union has its own office, provided by the company, with a telephone and computer.

The works council can make use of experts who are paid by the company either to obtain additional information or to explain the information already received. This is in addition to the auditor.

Training rights

Members of the works council and the trade union delegation also have the right to undertake paid training, provided by the unions, during working time. This training is intended to improve the skills and knowledge of the representatives in economic and social areas. The details of how much, and under what circumstances, are fixed by the collective agreement for the appropriate industrial sector. Typically it will be six to eight days a year. The training is paid for by the union but the time off is paid for by the company.

Representation at group level

There is no specific group level representation in the Belgian system. But works councils at different workplaces in the same company can have joint meetings, which are chaired by the head of the whole company.

[1] Eurofound (2015), Third European Company Survey – Overview report: Workplace practices – Patterns, performance and well-being, Figures for Table 44

[2] Résultats définitifs élections sociales 2016, Service public fédéral Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale, Tables CE and CPPT, B6 and D1 http://www.emploi.belgique.be/defaultTab.aspx?id=45485 (Accessed 27.09.18)

[3] Ibid

Employees are not represented at board level in Belgium, except in a handful of publicly-owned companies.

There is no system of board level representation in the private sector in Belgium. But there are employee representatives on the boards of a few state-owned companies, such as the Flemish public bus service company “De Lijn”, where two union officials, one from the CSC/ACV and one from the FGTB/ABVV, represent the interests of the employees. In addition, in 2008, a Belgian representative was elected onto the supervisory board of BASF SE, a European Company based in Germany.

The hierarchy for choosing European representatives from Belgium for European bodies is the works council, the health and safety committee and the union delegations.

European Works Councils

Members of the special negotiating body for the EWC are appointed by and from among the employee representatives on the works council(s); or, if there is no works council, by and from among the employee representatives on the health and safety committees; or, if these do not exist, by the trade union delegations, provided this has been agreed by the appropriate joint employer/union committee at industry level. In the last resort the employees themselves can choose the members.

The situation is the same for members of the fallback EWC, as set up under the annex to the directive.

European Company

Members of the special negotiating body for the European Company are appointed by: the employee representatives on the works council(s); or, if there is no works council, by the employee representatives on the health and safety committees; or, if these do not exist, by the trade union delegations, provided this has been agreed by the appropriate joint employer/union committee at industry level. In the last resort the employees themselves can choose the members. Union officials can be included in the special negotiating body, whether or not they are employed by one of the companies involved.

The situation is the same for members of the SE representative body (works council), as set up under the annex to the directive, although the legislation does not refer to union officials being members. The same rules apply for Belgian employee representatives at board level.

Further information on the national SE legislation can be found here.

Employee representation on health and safety matters is provided by the employee members of the joint health and safety committee. They are elected by all employees on the basis of nominations from the unions, and the powers of the health and safety committees are extensive and defined in detail in Belgian legislation.

Basic approach at workplace level

The employer is responsible for health and safety at work and all employers must set up an internal occupational health service with one or more health and safety experts Medium and large-sized companies also have a joint employer/employee health and safety committee whose responsibility it is to look after the well-being of the workforce. This committee should work closely with the occupational health service provided by the company.

The health and safety committee also has wider economic and social responsibilities in workplaces without a works council.

Employee health and safety bodies

The main form of employee representation in health and safety matters at the workplace is through the employee members of the joint health and safety committee (Comité pour la prévention et la protection au travail or CPPT in French / Comité Preventie en Bescherming or Comité PB in Flemish). They are elected by the whole workforce, although only the unions can nominate them.

Where there is no health and safety committee, its rights and duties are transferred to the trade union delegation (DS / SD in Flemish), whose powers and structures are set out in a series of collective agreements. Where there is no health and safety committee and no union delegation, the employer should consult the employees directly on health and safety issues, although this happens only rarely.

Numbers and structure

A health and safety committee should be set up in all workplaces with at least 50 employees. If there are several workplaces within a single company that are clearly separate units with a proper health and safety policy, they should each have a separate health and safety committee, provided they each employ 50 people. However, the fact that an individual workplace does not have 50 employees should not exclude them from coverage if the business as a whole has more than 50 employees. The workers at this smaller workplace should be included in another health and safety committee.

The health and safety committee is made up of the head of the business, or one or more of his or her representatives, plus representatives of the employees, made up of an equal number of full members and replacements.

In addition, the health and safety adviser (obligatory in most organisations – see Other elements of workplace health and safety below), or the head of the occupational health department, if one exists should be present in a consultative capacity. However, this individual cannot be part of either the employer’s or employees’ delegation. Other health and safety experts, either directly employed or external, should take part in the meetings on a consultative basis, if the agenda requires it.

The number of employees to be elected as full members of the committee varies in line with the number employed by the company (see table). An equal number of replacement employee members are also part of the committee.

The number of management representatives may not exceed the number of those representing the employees.

The committee is chaired by the senior management representative and the secretariat is provided by the company’s occupational health department.

The health and safety committee should establish a smaller group of its members who can respond at once, if there is an imminent and serious risk, if there has been an accident, or if at least one third of the employee members of the committee request it. Smaller groups of committee members should also be given the task of accompanying labour inspectors, if they visit the company, and carrying out a workplace inspection to assess risks; this should happen at least once a year.

Research by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in 2014 found that 34% of workplaces in Belgium had a health and safety committee. This is above the EU-28 average of 21%. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.)[1]

Tasks and rights

The employer is required to provide the committee with a wide range of information relating to health and safety. He or she should prepare documentation setting out;

• the laws and regulations relating to well-being at work that apply to the company’s operations;
• details of the obligations imposed on the employer by the regulatory authorities;
• all other documents and reports relating to the employees’ safety and well-being;
• an inventory of the machines and equipment used by the company;
• details of the location of dangerous substances and products used by the company;
• details of measurements relating to air and water pollution.

In addition the employer should inform the committee of:

• changes to production processes or working methods which might have an impact on health and safety – this could include, for example, the introduction of new computers;
• the introduction of new products;
• health and safety hazards;
• first-aid measures, fire prevention and evacuation arrangements; risk assessments;
• the company’s environmental policy – the company should produce an annual report on this; and
• regular reports on complaints raised by employees relating to violence and harassment.

The employer should also allow the employee members of the committee to contact employees, members of management and internal occupational health advisers in a way which allows them to carry out their functions.

As well as providing information, the employer must obtain the opinion of the health and safety committee in advance in a wide range of areas. In terms of policies, these include:

• all projects and measures which could have an impact on the well-being of employees, either directly or indirectly and in the short or long term;
• plans for the introduction of new technologies, which could have a health and safety impact;
• the company’s health and safety policies, including its overall five-year policy on hazard prevention and the annual action plan to achieve the aims set out in the policy, which each company is obliged to have.

More specifically the health and safety committee must give its view in advance on:

• all measures intended to adapt working methods and conditions to the needs of the worker and aiming to prevent occupational fatigue;
• adjustment measures for employees with disabilities; and
• the choice, purchase and maintenance of equipment used at work and collective and personal protective equipment.

In addition the health and safety committee must also be consulted in advance on the choice of external occupational health advisers and the composition of the internal occupational health service, and the financial and technical resources provided to it.

On all these issues the employer should respond to the views of the health and safety committee and give the reasons if he or she decides not to accept the opinion of the committee. In addition, where the health and safety committee is unanimous with regard to serious and imminent risks to the well-being of the employees, the employer must act in line with the committee’s views.

In some areas, the agreement of the health and safety committee must be obtained before the employer can act. These include the appointment of the internal occupational health advisers, and the amount of time they should spend on health and safety. If the employee members of the committee have lost confidence in the external occupational health and safety experts or the occupational physician, they must be replaced. In addition, the agreement of the health and safety committee must be obtained in other specific areas, such as operating at higher or lower temperatures than those laid down in regulations, having fewer than the prescribed number of toilets or changing rooms and so on.

The health and safety committee has the right to contact the national labour inspectorate at any time, and, at least once a year, a detailed inspection of the workplace to identify potential risks should be made by a delegation of the health and safety committee plus line management and the internal occupational health adviser.

The health and safety committee does not have the right to instruct that work should be stopped, but where there is an imminent and serious risk or where there has been an accident a smaller group of members meets immediately to decide on the action to take.

The health and safety committee also has a number of more organisational tasks. These include:

• working with the internal medical health service, where one exists, to ensure that it is working well and that at least twice a year there is report on its operation ;
• monitoring the work of external occupational health experts;
• developing appropriate means of communicating information about hazards at work to employees, as well as looking at their initial induction and training; and
• examining employees’ complaints about health and safety and ensuring that they are properly dealt with.

In addition, there are other areas, such as working with screens, risks to pregnant women, biological agents and first aid-arrangements, where the health and safety committee has been given particular responsibilities.

In addition to these health and safety responsibilities, in workplaces with 100 employees or fewer, where there is no works council, the health and safety committee also takes on the tasks related to economic and social issues which are the responsibility of the works council in larger workplaces.

Frequency of meetings

The employer is responsible for ensuring that the health and safety committee meets at least once a month, as well as when as at least one third of the employee members of the committee request it. The obligation to hold monthly meetings only applies to the private sector but it is strongly recommended for the public sector.

Election and term of office

The employee members of the health and safety committee, together with their deputies, are elected by the whole workforce covered by the committee. As with works councils, they can only be nominated by “representative trade unions”, and they are therefore all trade unionists. This also means that the elections for the health and safety committees are seen as a key test for the representativeness of Belgian unions.

They are elected for a period of four years.

Resources time off and training

The health and safety committee should meet during working time and its members should be paid.

The employer should give the health and safety committee adequate means of indicating their concerns about hazards to members of line management, and they should also have a notice board for communicating with employees.

The employee members of the health and safety committee can be assisted by an expert of their choice, provided this has been agreed with the employer. They can also be supported by a full-time union official in preparing for the meetings, with the tacit approval of the employer.

The employee members of the health and safety have the right to “appropriate training” during working time, for which they may not be charged. In some cases the amount of training will be specified in collective agreement, but not always. Some unions offer a week’s basic training.

Protection against dismissal

Employee members, and replacement members of the health and safety committee, as well as those who are candidates for the positions, have significant protection against dismissal and other forms of discrimination. They may not be transferred between workplaces, except where they have given their written permission, or their transfer has been accepted as being justified for economic or technical reasons by the appropriate joint union/employer body. They can only be dismissed for serious misconduct, which must be proved in front of a labour court, or for economic or technical reasons, which must be accepted as being justified by the appropriated joint union/employer body. Where there is an accusation of serious misconduct, the employer must inform the trade union in advance of the intention to dismiss the individual, to provide an opportunity for conciliation before the issue goes to the labour court.

Other elements of workplace health and safety

Belgian legislation provides for both internal and external health and safety services to assist employers in meeting their health and safety responsibilities.

All employers must set up an internal occupational health department with one or more health and safety advisers (conseiller en prévention in French or a preventieadviseur in Flemish), although under certain conditions it is also possible for several employers to cooperate in setting up a joint internal occupational health service. Where the internal occupational health department is unable to undertake a particular task, it should be given to an external occupational health service.

The extent of the internal service that employers are required to provide depends on the number employees as well as the inherent hazards of the industry concerned. The legislation sets out, in detail the tasks the health and safety tasks, which must be undertaken, and these vary according to the size of the organisation and the hazards present, with businesses divided into four categories. In larger organisations and those with greater hazards most of these tasks must be done internally. In smaller organisations they can be undertaken by experts from the external services. Health monitoring must be undertaken by occupational physicians and if there are none in the internal health and safety service, this must be done by the external service.

All business with more than 1,000 employees are in the highest category, as well as smaller businesses, if the risks are greater; for example, for water purification operations the threshold for the highest category is 500 employees, for car makers it is 200 and for oil refineries it is 50. In companies with fewer than 20 employees – the employer can be the health and safety adviser if adequately qualified.

All health and safety advisers must be adequately trained, with the amount of training depending on the risk category and the size of the business. In organisations with highest risks the starting requirement is graduate level education, plus 50 days of specialised training.

Employers are also encouraged to appoint a so-called person of confidence (Personne de confiance bien-être psychosocial / Vertrouwenspersoon), whose role is to give support to fellow employees who have suffered violence, bullying or sexual harassment. It is not obligatory to appoint a person of confidence, but it is seen as particularly useful if the bulk of health and safety services are provided externally and, as a result, individuals facing these problems have little support.

National context

The main ministry responsible for health and safety at work is the Ministry of Employment , the Economy and Consumers (Ministre de Emploi, de l'Economie et des Consommateurs / Werk Economie en Consumenten ). The official health and safety inspection and monitoring body is the Directorate General for the Control of the well-being at work (Direction générale Contrôle du bien-être au travail / Algemene Directie Toezicht op het Welzijn op het Werk).

Trade unions and employers are able to participate in health and safety issues at national level through their membership of the High Council for Prevention and Protection at Work (Conseil supérieur pour la prévention et la protection au travail / Hoge Raad voor preventie en bescherming op het werk).[2]

Legal changes which took effect from September 2014 placed psychosocial risks at the core of the risks to health at the workplace. The section of the legislation which previously referred only to violence, harassment and sexual harassment, was extended to cover psychosocial risks at work including stress, violence, harassment and sexual harassment. The legislation defines psychosocial risks as “the likelihood that one or more employee(s) may suffer mental harm, which may also be accompanied by physical harm, due to exposure to the elements of the work organisation, job content, working conditions, the conditions of working life and interpersonal relationships at work, on which the employer has an impact and which objectively pose a danger”.

Key legislation

Code on well-being at work

Royal Decree on the assignments and operation of the Committees for prevention and protection at work (3 May 1999)

Royal Decree on the assignments and operation of the Committees for prevention and protection at work (15 May 1999)

Code du bien-être au travail

L'arrêté royal relatif aux missions et au fonctionnement des comités pour la prévention et la protection au travail (3 Mai 1999)

L'arrêté royal 1999 relatif aux missions et au fonctionnement des comités pour la prévention et la protection au travail (15 Mai 2003)

Codex over het welzijn op het werk

Koninklijk besluit betreffende de opdrachten en de werking van de comités voor preventie en bescherming op het werk (3 mei 1999)

Koninklijk besluit betreffende de opdrachten en de werking van de comités voor preventie en bescherming op het werk (15 mei 2003)

[1] Second European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2016

[2] For more information on the national context see OSH system at national level – Belgium by Veronique De Broeck , OSH Wiki https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/OSH_system_at_national_level_-_Belgium