Belgium

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. 1

Union density and structure

Figures from the unions themselves indicate that there are 3.3 million union members in Belgium, and a recent study on unions in Belgium suggested that these figures were broadly accurate. 2 However, a significant proportion of union members are not working, either unemployed – unemployment benefits are often paid out through the unions – or retired.

Overall, a 2012 study found that on average, between 2001 and 2010, 31.1% of the members of the main confederations were not in work. 3 These factors mean that the number of employees who are trade union members, the standard measure for union density is well below 3.3 million. After adjusting for no-employees among union members, the OECD estimates union density in Belgium at 47.5% in 2023. 4

The two main trade union confederations in Belgium are the CSC/ACV from the Christian social tradition, with 1,430,615 members in 2023, 5 and the socialist-linked FGTB/ABVV, with 1,547,325 in 2020. 6 There is also the smaller liberal union confederation, the CGSLB/ACLVB with 308,737 members in 2022. 7 These figures all come from the union confederations themselves. Because of their broad support these three confederations have the status of “representative” unions (see Legal framework). 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 probably fewer 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 (see Workplace representation). In the 2024 elections for works councils, where the threshold is 100 employees, the CSC/ACV won 53.3% of the seats, the FGTB/ABVV 34.7%, the CGSLB/ACLVB 10.8% and the managers’ CNC/NCK 0.7%, with 0.5% going to independents. 8 The figures for the elections to the health and safety committees, where the threshold is 50 employees and only the three main confederations can propose candidates, are similar, with the CSC/ACV winning 55.5% of the seats, the FGTB/ABVV gaining 34.2% and the CGSLB/ACLVB 10.3%. 9

One important 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, and on their relationships with political structures at local level. One other result is that most 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 2024 elections for both works councils and health and safety committees confirm that the CSC/ACV has more seats 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.

Individual unions

The two main confederations are organised in separate unions (centrales professionennelles / beroepscentrales), with, in some cases, separate unions for manual and non-manual workers, reflecting the legal distinction which persists in several areas – notably collective bargaining and employee representation. This is despite moves to remove other 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.

The confederations also have important regional structures.

CSC/ACV is made up of 10 unions. There are four unions for private sector manual workers, covering construction and energy (250,000 members), metal and textiles (155,000), food and services (238,000), and transport and communication (78,000). There are two separate unions largely covering non-manual workers in the private sector, one for workers in Flemish-speaking regions and one for workers in French-speaking regions. The Flemish union is the ACV Puls, with 251,000 members. The equivalent French union is the CNE, with 156,000 members. There is also a union for public services workers (161,000 members) and three unions for teachers, two in Flemish-speaking areas, one with 40,000 and one with 34,000, and one in the French-speaking areas with 46,000 members.

The position in the FGTB/ABVV is similar, but with only six unions. There are separate manual unions for metal workers (148,000 members), food and catering workers (136,000) and transport workers (59,000), as well as a general union (CG/AC) which organises workers, both manual and non-manual, across a wide range of sectors, including construction, agency workers and workers in social care. CG/AC is the second-largest union in the FGTB/ABVV with 419,000 members. Private service non-manual workers in FGTB/ABVV are in SETCa/BBTK, the confederation’s largest union, with 438,000 members. There is also a public services union with 307,000 members.

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

Political position

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”. 10 The CSC/ACV is part of the Christian pillar, FGTB/ABVV belongs to the socialist tradition and the CGSLB/ACLVB is liberal.

However, as a recent study of the Belgian trade union movement points out, this structure which for decades has provided political support for the country’s industrial relations system, with its strong involvement of unions, is coming under increasing strain. 11 The study identifies at least four reasons for this. First, the unions’ traditional political allies, have failed to deliver, promoting austerity against the interests of union members. Second, new parties, which reject the influence of the social partners are gaining greater influence. Third, the rise of the pro-Flemish independence party, N-VA, has made it more difficult to form country-wide coalition governments. And fourth, unions have faced the growing political influence of the extreme right.

Legal framework

The Belgium constitution provides a legal basis for trade unions, stating in Article 27 that “Belgians have the right to enter into association or partnership”, and this is also set out specifically in the Act Guaranteeing the Freedom of Association passed in 1921. 12

However, subsequent legislation made a distinction between representative unions and others, with legislation on collective bargaining passed in 1968 stating in Article 3 that to be representative unions, or the confederations to which they belong, must be members of both the Central Economic Council (CCE/CRB) and the National Labour Council (CNT/NAR). 13

Organisations are appointed to these two bodies by ministerial decision and in practice to be representative a confederation must operate on a national basis across the whole economy and have at least 50,000 members. Only three confederations, CSC/ACV, FGTB/ABVV and CGSLB/ACLVB, fulfil these conditions and are considered to be representative.

This gives them specific rights both in terms of collective bargaining (see Who negotiates?) and in workplace representation (see The role of unions).

The CNC/NCK union, which only represents senior managers, has sought to be considered representative, and took a case to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1979, which it lost. 14 However, it is a member of the Central Economic Council and can nominate candidates in works council elections, in the seats reserved for senior managers (see Election and term of office).

Membership trends

After a period when all unions were able to increase their membership – in total it rose by 13% between 2001 and 2010 15 – experience in the more recent period has been more mixed.

Between 2018 and 2023 membership of the CSC/ACV fell by 6.2%, from 1,524,679 to 1,430,615. 16 The FGTB/ABVV, whose membership had been falling since 2015, saw an increase in membership in 2020, up by 2.1% on the year before from 1,515,746 to 1,547,325. 17 Membership of the CGSLB/ACLVB, in contrast, has been growing steadily, recording a 3.7% increase between 2018 and 2022. 18 This broadly in line with the increase in the number of employees in Belgium, which grew by 3.9% between the last quarter of 2018 and the last quarter of 2022. 19

The 2020 increase in the membership of the FGTB/ABVV, which also occurred in the CSC/ACV in 2020, was a result of more unemployed members joining the union. This reflects the fact that many workers access unemployment benefits through a union, which helps maintain membership levels. Another support for membership is that, in many industries, unions can offer members an annual union bonus, which can halve unions’ annual subscription fees. This is paid by the employers but only to those in the union.

Women

Both the CSC/ACV and the FGTB/ABVV have been reasonably successful in recruiting and retaining women in membership. Almost half (47.3%) of the CSC/ACV’s members are women, while the FGTB/ABVV states that “almost half” of its members are women. This is similar to the proportion of women among employees, which was 49.0% in 2024. 20

A national agreement is supposed to set 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 and increasing government intervention, negotiators have only limited room for manoeuvre. 21

Collective bargaining coverage and structure

Collective bargaining in Belgium is highly structured with:

• a national level at the top covering the whole of the private sector;
• industry-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.

In addition, most private sector industry agreements are extended by the state to employers (and their employees) who are not directly covered by them (see Extending agreements). As a result, the proportion of private sector employees covered by collective bargaining is very high. Those not covered by collective bargaining are likely to be senior managers and other senior staff, whose pay is set individually.

A report by Eurofound using figures from the Belgian employment services (SPF/WAD) estimated coverage, among those entitled to bargain, at 96% in 2014. 22 The OECD, taking account of the fact that all employees are potentially covered by a collective agreement, estimates coverage at 100% in 2024. 23

There are no current national figures on coverage, but, in March 2024, the bipartite union/employer body, the CNT/NAR (see Joint employer/union body at national level) was happy to quote the 2019 OECD estimate of 96%. 24 In future, as part of the implementation of the EU adequate minimum wage directive, the government will report every two years in September on the level of collective bargaining coverage, and the CNT/NAR will be consulted on the results. 25

The state potentially plays a major role in collective bargaining in the private sector. Since 1996, legislation has imposed limits on pay increases, based on the forecast pay increases in Belgium’s neighbours, Germany, France and the Netherlands, in order to maintain the country’s competitiveness. 26 These limits were further tightened by a second law passed in 2017, which introduced a safety margin, provided for past corrections, and removed some social security elements, which had previously allowed higher pay increases, from the calculation. 27

Based on expected developments in the three neighbouring countries, the amount available for pay increases over the next two years is calculated in an official technical report by the Secretariat of the Central Economic Council (CCE/CRB – see Joint employer/union body at national level).

In drawing up this pay norm, the report takes account of Belgium’s system of pay indexation which means that pay automatically goes up in line with prices, although the precise mechanisms vary between industries.

Once the pay norm has been published – at the end of the “even” years (2024, 2026, 2028 and so on) – unions and employers have until mid-January of the following year to reach agreement on the pay increase. If there is no agreement, the government makes a mediation proposal, and if that is not accepted, the government can impose a figure.

In recent years, since the economic crisis, the room for negotiation on pay at national level, going beyond automatic price indexation, has been very limited. The pay norm, which was 5.0% over two years in 2007-2008 and €250 in 2009-2010, has not been above 1.1% since 2011, and was 0.4% in 2021-22, 0.0% in 2023-24 and 0.0% in 2025-26. 28

The very limited room for negotiation offered by the pay norm means that it has been very difficult to reach what is known as the inter-professional agreement (AIP/IPA) between the employers and all three union confederations in recent years. As a result, since 2011, there has only been one two-year period, covering 2017-18, when an AIP/IPA has been signed. In most of the other years, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2019-2020 and 2021-2022, the pay norm was imposed by the government. In 2015-16, there was legislation to set the pay increase, and in 2023-24, although there was no agreement on a pay increase, there were several agreements covering a range of other issues, and regulations allowing a purchasing power bonus, paid by companies which had done well, to be negotiated at industry level.

There was also no AIP/IPA in 2025-26 and a 0.0% pay increase, in line with the recommended pay norm, was imposed by the government on 12 September 2025. 29

As well as two-yearly national-level bargaining on pay and other issues, which do not have a formal status, although they are morally binding, unions and employers also negotiate formally at national level in the National Labour Council (CNT/ NAR) (see Joint employer/union body at national level). Agreements in the National Labour Council have been reached on a range of topics, from alcohol and drugs to working from home (see Subjects covered in agreements).

Below national-level bargaining, unions and employers negotiate at industry level in 162 joint committees (98 main committees and 64 sub-committees – figures for 2023-24). The 0.0% pay norms have left these committees little to negotiate in terms of pay in recent years, although they were involved negotiations on the purchasing power bonus in 2023-24. However, agreements have been signed on a range of other issues (see Subjects covered in agreements), with 2,700 to 2,800 signed in 2023-24, although some of these simply prolong existing arrangements. 30

Company-level bargaining takes place below this level although the extent to which companies depart from industry-level agreements varies and they often deal with topics other than wages. 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 other areas, such as metal manufacturing, industry-level bargaining provides a framework for company negotiations. 31 For a period, performance-related bargaining was a key topic in company-level negotiations. 32 They are also the place for negotiations on so-called “cafeteria plans”, which allow for the provision of individualised social benefits. The number of company agreements has increased in recent years, and currently around a third of companies have their own agreements. 33

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. 34

Variations in collective bargaining coverage

Companies normally assign themselves to the appropriate collective bargaining committee or sub-committee for their industry or area of activity, but if there is doubt, they are assigned to the correct committee as part of the social security registration. Combined with the widespread extension of agreements to all employers, this means that they are few variations in the level of collective bargaining coverage.

Extending agreements

Either of the negotiating parties, the unions or the employers can ask for an industry-level agreement to be extended to all employers and employees in the industry concerned, irrespective as to whether the employers belong to the employers’ association which signed the agreement. This happens very frequently.

Agreements signed at national level in the National Labour Council (CNT/NAR) are almost always extended in this way.

Allowing local variations

As the detailed study on collective bargaining, referred to above, points out, it is legally possible to provide worse conditions at company level than those set out in the industry-level agreement, as an individual employment contract takes legal precedence over a non-extended industry agreement. 35 However, this is rare, and it no-longer applies if the agreement is extended.

Company facing financial difficulties can also ask to vary the terms of the industry agreement, but again only if the agreement has not been declared binding and contains a specific clause providing for this. Such cases which an appeal to an arbitration board by the company concerned are rare. 36

Who negotiates?

Negotiations at national level on the AIP/IPA two-year national pay framework agreement (see Collective bargaining coverage and structure) take place in the so-called “Group of 10”, a joint employer/union body. The five members on the union side are two representatives of the CSC/ACV, two from the FGTB/ABVV, and one from the CGSLB/ACLVB.

Within the National Labour Council (CNT/NAR), where official negotiations take place at national level, the negotiators are the members of the council, both the union and the employers (see Joint employer/union body at national level), with the chair provided by the state.

At industry level, negotiations are carried on by the unions and the employers’ associations meeting in joint committees and sub-committees, which cover the whole of the private sector. The numbers on each side are determined by government decree, and, on the union side, they are split between the unions based on each union’s support in that industry. This is either measured by the results of the elections for workplace representatives or the level of union membership. As in the National Labour Council, the chair is nominated by the state, and has usually worked as a conciliator

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, although the union delegation can formally be given authority to sign agreements.

Industrial action

The right to strike is not a constitutional right in Belgium. However, it is guaranteed because Belgium has ratified the Revised European Social Charter, which in Article 6 (4) recognises “the right of workers and employers to collective action in cases of conflicts of interest, including the right to strike”. In addition, in 1981 the courts recognised in 1981 that a worker in the private sector had a right not to work because of a strike. 37

There is no general Belgian legislation setting out the rights and obligations of the parties in strike, and in most cases the rules have developed through a combination of agreements between unions and employers and judicial decisions.

Key aspects of the rules on strikes in the private sector are normally set out in industry-level collective agreements, negotiated in joint committees (see Who negotiates?). Their key roles are to negotiate collective agreements, to avoid industrial disputes and to regulate them where they occur. 38

Unions cannot organise strikes until the collective agreement has expired and the parties are expected to negotiate in good faith and exhaust all avenues of conciliation before a conflict. (Strikes which do not involve unions, where workers walk out spontaneously, are legal, as the right to strike is seen as an individual right. 39)

There is no requirement for a ballot before a strike. However, the unions must give advance notice of a strike though a registered letter sent to the president of the joint committee for the industry concerned or to the employer or employers affected. This must be sent typically a week or 14 days before the planned action – the precise period is set out in the collective agreement itself or in the procedural rules of the joint committee.

In the public sector, similar procedural rules in the event of industrial action have been negotiated with government departments and other public institutions.

In the private sector, the definition of essential services and the minimum level of services to be provided are, in principle, left to the joint union-employer committees which are “required to determine and define, for the companies within their respective jurisdiction, the measures, benefits or services to be provided, in the event of collective and voluntary cessation of work [a strike] … in order to deal with certain vital needs”. 40 This potentially allows striking workers to be required to carry out essential tasks. However, although this is the theory, in practice, this rarely happens, other than in private hospitals, where an agreement was implemented through legalisation in 1951 (CP n° 330 : arrêté royal du 25 mai 1951). 41 In 2021, health care was the only sector where it was been necessary to require workers wishing to strike to come to work. During the year there were requests from 25 organisations involving 1,100 employees. 42

In the public sector, there are some areas where workers can be required to provide a minimum service in some cases because of legislation, in others, because of agreements between unions and employers and the impact of judicial decisions. For example, there is legislation covering both public broadcasting and prisons, but not in public hospitals. However, unions and employers have agreed that a minimum service, which excludes non-urgent examinations, must be provided in public hospitals, and workers can be required to work.

The situation is similar in relation to police officers, who have a right to go on strike in Belgium. In practice, the minimum level of service provided is equivalent to that provided on Sundays. In the area of the public transport, the railways (SNCB) are required to provide a minimum service during strikes. However, this does not mean that strikers are required to work, simply that the company must provide a minimum service using the workers who have indicated that they will not be striking. The unions must provide warning eight working days before the planned strike and workers must give 72 hours’ notice of their intention to participate. The SNCB must provide details of its minimum service 24 hours before the planned strike. 43

In education, schools are required to look after the children in the case of a strike, but not to provide education. Teachers must inform the authorities of their intention to strike in advance so that this service can be organised.

Strikes in Belgium seem to be relatively common in international terms. A 2024 study by the German WSI institute fund that over the period 2013 to 2022 on average 103 working days per 1,000 workers were lost to strikes each year. This is higher than any other country, with France, admittedly only for the private sector, in second place with 92 days lost per year per 1,000 workers. 44

Length and timing of agreements

Pay negotiations take place every two years. Negotiations in the Group of 10 at national level on a new AIP/IPA begin at the end of the “even” year and run into the start of the next year. They are then followed by negotiations at industry and finally at company level. The negotiations often take place sometime after the start of the two-year period they cover. The official report on bargaining in 2023-24 noted that, as in earlier years, industry-level negotiations “principally only took place in the autumn of 2023”. 45

Subjects covered in agreements

At national level, the negotiations within the Group of 10 on an AIP/IPA can cover a much wider range of topics than normal pay and conditions issues, including job creation measures, training and childcare provision. Even if there is no agreement on pay, other topics can be agreed. For example, although there was no pay agreement for the period 2023-24, unions and employers reached national agreements on company unemployment schemes, shorter working time at the end of an individual’s career and overtime and short time working.

At national level, within the formal structure of the National Labour Council (CNT/NAR), agreements have been reached on a wide range of issues, from alcohol and drugs to working time. These agreements are almost always made generally binding and so are extended to the whole of the private sector. They are also used to give formal effect to the agreements in principle reached in the Group of 10.

The National Labour Council is also where the national minimum wage is negotiated and agreed (see Minimum wage).

Industry-level agreements, negotiated within joint committees and sub-committee (see Who negotiates?) will often include job classification and grading structures. However, the extent of pay increases is effectively decided at national level, through the pay norm, although in 2023 the purchasing power bonus which could be paid on top of the pay norm, was negotiated at industry level. Other issues covered in industry-level negotiations over this period included training, arrangements at the end of an individual’s career, digitalisation, as well as responding to a number of government initiatives. 46

Industry-level agreements are also where the mechanics of pay indexation are set out. The arrangements to keep pay raising in line with prices vary from industry to industry but are typically linked to the so-called “health index”, which excludes a range of items – tobacco, alcohol, petrol, diesel and the impact of some taxes – from the consumer price index. Depending on the agreement, pay is either increased when a specific index threshold is crossed (pivot indexation) or annually, in line in line with the index.

The issues dealt with in company-level negotiations vary, depending on the industry, with some industries allowing for greater company level negotiation than others. 47 However, they are also where so-called “cafeteria plans”, which allow for the provision of individualised social benefits are agreed.

Minimum wage

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 (collective agreement No. 43). 48 It does not apply to the public sector.

In 2023, it was agreed that it would increase by a set amount each April until April 2026. This is in addition to automatic pay indexation. 49

Joint employer/union body at national level

There are two national advisory councils which bring unions and employers together. These are the Central Economic Council (CCE/CRB) and the National Labour Council (CNT/ NAR). 50 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 (see Who negotiates?). The agreement on the national minimum wage (see Minimum wage) 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.

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.

The basic structure

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. 51 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. 52 These agreements cover the vast majority of employers, although the details vary.

The national framework agreement leaves it up to the industry-level agreements to determine:

• when it is appropriate to establish a trade union delegation and how is it composed;
• what are the powers of the union delegation;
• what is the status of the members of the union delegation; and
• what is its role when there is no works council.

The situation 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.

The extent of workplace representation

There are a large number of elected workplace committees. Statistics from the 2024 elections for employee representatives show that there were 4,172 works councils and 7,417 health and safety committees at that point. 53

Figures from the 2019 European Company Survey show that, on average, 40% of all Belgian workplaces with more than 10 employees had some form of employee representation, well above the EU27 average of 29%. For workplaces with 50 or more employees – the threshold for a health and safety committee – the figures are much higher, 70% for workplaces with between 50 and 249 employees, and 98% for those with more than 250. 54

The role of unions

Unions play a central role in employee representation at workplace level in two ways.

First, only the trade union delegations negotiate with the employer at company level and deals with disputes between the employer and the workforce. The union also ensures that the appropriate legislation and collective agreements are properly applied.

Second, only the three representative unions, CSC/ACV, FGTB/ABVV and CGSLB/ACLVB (see Union density and structure) can nominate the vast majority of the members of the employee representative bodies (see Election and term of office).

Numbers and composition

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 consists of the head of the company plus other employer representatives and elected employee representatives.

Employee representatives on the works council are elected on the following basis: 55

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 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.

The operation of the works council and union delegation

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.

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.

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 composition). 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 (98.8% in 2016 56) 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 2024 elections, 38.5% of the elected works council members were women; in health and safety committees the figure was 40.2%. 57 In both cases this is well below the proportion of women among potential electors, who make up 51.5% of those able to vote for works council members and 53.6% of those able to vote for members of health and safety committees.

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.

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. 58

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 are searched or monitored in some other way, when leaving work to prevent theft. 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
• 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 management of social benefits, including pension funds, as well as canteens and sports clubs.

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.

Protection against dismissal

Members of both directly elected and trade union representative bodies have some protection against dismissal, although it is greater for the directly elected works council and health and safety committee members than for members of the trade union delegation.

Works council and health and safety committee members

Members of the works council and the health and safety committee can only be dismissed for “serious fault” – defined as a situation which makes any further professional relationship immediately and definitely 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. 59

Dismissals because of alleged “serious fault” are dealt with through a judicial procedure that culminates in the labour court; dismissals for economic or technical reasons must be approved by the joint employer/union committee for the activity concerned, although a subsequent appeal to the labour court by the employer is possible. Other types of dismissal are not permitted.

Where the employer alleges that the works council member is guilty of “serious fault”, he or she must go through a four-stage procedure before the works council member can be dismissed. There is also the possibility of an appeal after that.

In the first stage of the procedure, the employer must inform the individual works council member and the nominating union, explaining why a further professional relationship is impossible, as well as writing to the local labour court.

The second stage of the procedure sets aside five days for negotiation between the parties, when the works council member and the union present their case to the employer. During this period both parties are called separately to the court, where they are informed of the details of the procedure to be followed.

In the third stage, the two sides again appear before the court, which tries to conciliate between the two sides. If this conciliation is successful, this is recorded by the court, and the agreed text is legally binding on the two parties. If conciliation fails, this is also recorded by the court, and at this point the court decides whether the works council member should be suspended. (This should only happen in exceptional circumstances – see below.)

The key element of the fourth stage is the hearing, although the court then summons both parties to an introductory hearing, where there is a final attempt to reach agreement through conciliation. If this fails, there is a final hearing, which may involve witnesses, and judge’s decision should be published within eight days of the end of the hearing.

There is also the possibility of an appeal, which must be made within 10 working days of the judgement been sent out.

During the procedure, the member of the works council normally remains as an employee, receiving normal pay.

In the case of a dismissal of a works council member on economic or technical grounds, this cannot be done until the joint union/employer committee for the business in which the employer operates has approved the dismissal. The legislation does not provide a definitive list of the circumstances justifying the dismissal of a works council member on economic or technical grounds, but the parliamentary debates when the law was passed suggest that they must be “"unavoidable necessities", such as bankruptcy, the closure of the entire company or the closure of a specific division or workplace.

The joint committee has two months, after being informed by the employer, to reach its decision, which must be agreed unanimously by the members present.

After two months, three outcomes are possible:

• the joint committee has agreed unanimously that the dismissal is justified – the employer can dismiss the works council member, although the employee’s other rights linked to dismissal must be respected;
• the joint committee has agreed unanimously that the dismissal is not justified – the employer may not dismiss the works council member but does have a right to take the case to the labour court;
• the joint committee has not met or has not reached a unanimous decision on the issue – the employer may decide to go ahead and dismiss the works council member, but only if the entire company or a division of the company is closing, or if a whole category of employees is being dismissed. Nevertheless, even where the entire company or a division of the company is closing, it may be advisable for the employer to ask the labour court for approval before dismissing the works council member, to avoid a potential later claim for compensation. Where the employer claims that a whole category of employees is being dismissed, the employer must ask the labour court before dismissal.

The procedure for asking the labour court for approval to dismiss a works council member on economic and technical grounds is the same as that for dismissal on grounds of serious fault. However, it cannot begin until the joint committee has had an opportunity to make a decision on the issue.

The protection against dismissal 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. The protection for candidates continues for a period after the election, even for those who have not been elected, although the length of protection varies.

Protection begins 65 days before the elections – the first day that candidates can be presented. It continues throughout the four-year period of office, and ends when the next, newly elected, works council holds its first meeting. Unsuccessful candidates are also protected for the same length of time. However, this protection is cut to two years if the candidate has failed to be elected for a second consecutive time.

Members of the trade union delegation

Members of the trade union delegation have a lower level of protection against dismissal than members of the works council and the health and safety committee, unless, as stated above, the trade union delegation is exercising the powers of the health and safety committee because this committee does not exist. The details of the protection are set out in a binding collective agreement. 60 This is a framework agreement, which can be improved upon by agreements signed either at industry or company level. If there is no such lower-level agreement, it applies directly.

The framework agreement states that a member of the union delegation should receive neither benefits nor disadvantages from their role and that they should have the same promotion and progress at work as any other employee in their situations. They should also not be dismissed for reasons inherent in the exercise of their role. However, members of the union delegation can be dismissed for economic or technical reasons or for personal reasons, not linked to their activities as a member of the delegation.

Where an employer is considering dismissing a member of the trade union delegation, other than for what is described as a “serious reason”, such as drunkenness at work, unauthorised absence, theft, violence or a refusal to carry out instructions, the employer must inform the union delegation and the trade union that nominated the individual in advance. The union has a right to say whether it accepts the dismissal of the member concerned. If it accepts the dismissal or does not respond within seven days, the dismissal is legally valid. If it objects, the case is referred to a conciliation committee of the joint union/employer body for the business in which the employer operates. This committee then has 30 days to reach a decision, and during that period the dismissal is paused. The conciliation committee can only take decisions unanimously and, if a unanimous decision is not agreed, the question as to whether the dismissal is justified is transferred to the labour court.

If the member of the union delegation is dismissed for a “serious reason”, the union must be informed immediately, and the issue can be taken to the labour court.

The protection applies to members of the union delegation and replacement members if they take up the position of union delegate.

The protection begins when the member of the union delegation begins their period of office and continues until it ends. It also continues if a member of the union delegation is transferred to another section of the company, until a new union delegation is chosen.

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 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.

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.

Training rights

Workplace employee representatives, whether they are members of the works council, the health and safety committee or the trade union delegation, have a right in principle to undertake union training during working time, without any loss of earnings. 61 This training is intended to improve the skills and knowledge of the representatives in economic and social areas, and is organised by the unions, at central, regional or industry level.

The details of how much, and under what circumstances, are fixed by the collective agreements for the relevant industry sector, many of which were signed following a national agreement on training for employee representatives covering the whole of the private sector in June 1971. 62 Agreement on time off for training can also be reached at company level, either to improve on the industry-level agreement, or where such an agreement does not exist.

As the agreements are signed on an industry basis, the training arrangements vary from industry to industry. In the metal working industry, for example, workplace representatives have a right to 10 days paid time off for training over a four-year period. 63 Material on training for employee representatives, published by the largest union for non-manual workers shows a range of agreed arrangements for non-manual workers. 64 These include five days per year in insurance, four days per year in non-ferrous industries and 15 days over four years in retail and the food industry. In banking the total number of days of training each year permitted in the agreement is equivalent to 9% of the number of employees in the company, with a minimum of 15 days in companies with 150 or employees. In most agreements there is no distinction between works council members, members of the health and safety company and members of the trade union delegation. However, in the non-manual agreement for gas and electricity, members of the trade union delegation have a right to 10 days’ training a year, while works council and health and safety committee members have only five.

While the time off is paid for by the employer, the cost of the training, including accommodation and travel, where required, is paid by the union.

As well as the training specifically agreed for them, workplace representatives are also able to use the more general workers’ right to paid educational leave, although there are different rules in the different regions of the country.

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.

Employees are not represented at board level in Belgium, except in a handful of publicly owned companies. 65

The extent of board-level employee representation

here is no system of board-level representation in the private sector in Belgium, and, although the smallest union confederation, the CGSLB/ACLVB, supports employee representation at board level in private companies, the two other, much larger, confederations CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV (see Union density and structure), do not. 66

There are, however, employee representatives, either as members or observers, on the boards of the three regional public transport companies.

STIB-MIVB in Brussels has a representative each from the three representative union confederations (CSC/ACV, FGTB/ABVV and CGSLB/ACLVB), among 22 board members. 67

The Flemish public transport service company “De Lijn” has one representative from the Flemish Social and Economic Council (SERV) on its 11-person board, and this member is chosen alternately (even five years) by the employers and the unions. There are also three union representatives, one each from CSC/ACV, FGTB/ABVV and CGSLB/ACLVB, who are present as observers, alongside the SERV member (from either the employers or the unions) who is not sitting as a full member. 68

In Wallonia, the public transport company Le Tec has three trade union members on its 19-strong board. They also come from each of the three representative union confederations. 69

The Belgian Railway Company, SNCB/NMBS previously had employee representatives on its board, but these seats were lost in the early 2000s.

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. These regulations are set out in a binding collective agreement rather than regulation. 70

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. As in the case of the EWC, these regulations were introduced through a binding collective agreement. 71

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 regulations do not refer to union officials being members. The same rules apply for Belgian employee representatives at board level.

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.

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), 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.

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

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 ), 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 (EU-OSHA) in 2019 found that 29% of workplaces in Belgium had a health and safety committee, above the EU27 average of 22%. The figures also show that more than a quarter (27%) of workplaces had health and safety representatives compared with an EU27 average of 56%. However, it is not clear what this means as health and safety representatives are not part of the Belgian system. (The figures are for workplaces with five or more employees.) 72

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 (see Tasks and rights).

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. 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 (see Protection against dismissal).

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 / preventieadviseur), 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 Agriculture (Ministère de l'Emploi, de l'Economie et de l'Agriculture / Ministerie van Werk, Economie en Landbouw). 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 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). 73

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

   For a detailed examination of trade unions in Belgium see Belgium: Trade unions coping with workplace fissuring and opposing wage moderation in a tottering political system by Kurt Vandaele in Trade Unions in the European Union, edited by Jeremy Waddington, Torsten Müller and Kurt Vandaele, Peter Lang, 2023 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Chapter3_Belgium_Trade%20unions%20coping%20with%20workplace%20fissuring%20and%20opposing%20wage%20moderation%20in%20a%20tottering%20political%20system_2023.pdf

• 2

  Ibid

• 3

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

• 4

  OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database: trade union density, OECD, 2025 https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecdaias-ictwss-database.html

• 5

  CSC: Rapport administratif 2023, 2024 https://www.lacsc.be/docs/default-source/acv-csc-docsitemap/5000-over-het-acv-a-propos-de-la-csc/5230-publicaties-publications/5240-folders-en-brochures-brochures/5250-algemene-brochures-connaitre-la-csc/rapport-administratif-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=1e48f067_0

• 6

  FGTB: Rapport statutaire : rapport d'activités 2018-2022, 2022 https://fgtb.be/sites/default/files/2022-06/rapport%20FGTB%20FR%202022.pdf

• 7

  CGSLB/ACLVB: Structure et les chiffres clés, 2025  https://www.cgslb.be/fr/la-structure-et-les-chiffres-cles-de-la-cgslb#chiffres-cls

• 8

  Résultats définitifs des élections sociales 2024 – CE, SPF Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale Table B7 https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/elections-sociales-2024/resultats-definitifs-des-elections-sociales-0

• 9

  Résultats définitifs des élections sociales 2024 – CPPT, SPF Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale Table B7 https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/elections-sociales-2024/resultats-definitifs-des-elections-sociales-1

• 10

  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

• 11

  Belgium: Trade unions coping with workplace fissuring and opposing wage moderation in a tottering political system by Kurt Vandaele in Trade Unions in the European Union, edited by Jeremy Waddington, Torsten Müller and Kurt Vandaele, Peter Lang, 2023 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/Chapter3_Belgium_Trade%20unions%20coping%20with%20workplace%20fissuring%20and%20opposing%20wage%20moderation%20in%20a%20tottering%20political%20system_2023.pdf

• 12

  Loi garantissant la liberté d'association, 24 Mai 1921, https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/63899/BEL63899.pdf

• 13

  Loi du 5 Decembre 1968 sur les conventions collectives et les commissions paritaires https://emploi.belgique.be/sites/default/files/content/documents/Commissions%20paritaires%20et%20CCT/R%C3%A9glementation/Loi%2005121968.pdf

• 14

  Rapport définitif - Rapport No. 197, Novembre 1979, ILO https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_fr/f?p=1000:50002:0::NO::P50002_COMPLAINT_TEXT_ID,P50002_LANG_CODE:2900162,fr:NO

• 15

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

• 16

  CSC: Rapport administratif 2023, 2024 https://www.lacsc.be/docs/default-source/acv-csc-docsitemap/5000-over-het-acv-a-propos-de-la-csc/5230-publicaties-publications/5240-folders-en-brochures-brochures/5250-algemene-brochures-connaitre-la-csc/rapport-administratif-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=1e48f067_0 and CSC: Rapport administratif 2022, 2023  https://www.lacsc.be/docs/default-source/acv-csc-docsitemap/5000-over-het-acv-a-propos-de-la-csc/rapport_admin_2022-complet.pdf?sfvrsn=26592dc3_20

• 17

  FGTB: Rapport statutaire : rapport d'activités 2018-2022, 2022 https://fgtb.be/sites/default/files/2022-06/rapport%20FGTB%20FR%202022.pdf

• 18

  CGSLB/ACLVB: Structure et les chiffres clés, 2025  https://www.cgslb.be/fr/la-structure-et-les-chiffres-cles-de-la-cgslb#chiffres-cls

• 19

  Indicateurs trimestriels détail, Statbel https://statbel.fgov.be/fr/themes/emploi-formation/marche-du-travail/emploi-et-chomage#panel-12

• 20

  CSC: Rapport administratif 2023, 2024 https://www.lacsc.be/docs/default-source/acv-csc-docsitemap/5000-over-het-acv-a-propos-de-la-csc/5230-publicaties-publications/5240-folders-en-brochures-brochures/5250-algemene-brochures-connaitre-la-csc/rapport-administratif-2023.pdf?sfvrsn=1e48f067_0, FGTB: Rapport statutaire : rapport d'activités 2018-2022, 2022 https://fgtb.be/sites/default/files/2022-06/rapport%20FGTB%20FR%202022.pdf and Enquête sur les Forces de Travail 2024 T2.038Q https://statbel.fgov.be/fr/themes/emploi-formation/marche-du-travail/emploi-et-chomage#panel-12

• 21

   For a detailed examination of collective bargaining in Belgium see Belgium: stability on the surface, mounting tensions beneath by Kurt Vandaele, in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/CB1-Chapitre%2B3.pdf 

• 22

  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

• 23

  OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database: collective bargaining coverage, OECD, 2025 https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecdaias-ictwss-database.html

• 24

  AVIS N° 2.414 : Transposition de la directive 2022/2041 du 19 octobre 2022 relative à des salaires minimaux adéquats dans l’Union européenne, 29 mars 2024, CNT https://cnt-nar.be/sites/default/files/documents/fr/avis-2414.pdf

• 25

  Loi du 17 décembre 2024, Article 6 https://etaamb.openjustice.be/fr/loi-du-17-decembre-2024_n2024011883

• 26

  Loi relative à la promotion de l'emploi et à la sauvegarde préventive de la compétitivité

• 27

  Loi modifiant la loi du 26 juillet 1996 relative à la promotion de l'emploi et à la sauvegarde préventive de la compétitivité

• 28

  Norme salariale, SPF https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/remuneration/norme-salariale#toc_heading_6

• 29

  ibid

• 30

  Rapport concernant les résultats de la concertation sectorielle en 2023-2024, by Guy van Gyes et al, SPF, 2024 https://emploi.belgique.be/sites/default/files/content/publications/FR/Rapport%20concertation%20sociale%20sectorielle%202023-2024.pdf

• 31

  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)

• 32

  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 inMulti-employer bargaining under pressure: decentralisation trends in five European countries, edited by Salvo Leonardi and Roberto Pedersini, ETUI, 2018 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/Chapter%203_6.pdf

• 33

  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

• 34

  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

• 35

  Belgium: stability on the surface, mounting tensions beneath by Kurt Vandaele, in Collective bargaining in Europe: towards an endgame, edited by Torsten Müller, Kurt Vandaele and Jeremy Waddington, ETUI, 2019 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/CB1-Chapitre%2B3.pdf

• 36

  ibid

• 37

  See Grève et lock out, Service Public Fédéral, https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/conflits-collectifs/greve-et-lock-out#:~:text=En%20Belgique%2C%20il%20n'existe,inclus%20dans%20notre%20droit%20positif

• 38

  See https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/propos-du-spf/institutions-liees/organes-consultatifs/commissions-et-sous-commissions-paritaires#:~:text=Les%20commissions%20et%20sous%2Dcommissions,adapt%C3%A9s%20aux%20conditions%20de%20travail.

• 39

  See The right to strike in public service – Belgium, EPSU and ETUI, 2021 https://www.epsu.org/sites/default/files/article/files/Belgium%20-%20Right%20to%20strike%20in%20the%20public%20sector%20-%20factsheet%20upd%202021_0.pdf

• 40

  See Loi relative aux prestations d'intérêt public en temps de paix 1948 and subsequently amended https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi_loi/change_lg.pl?language=fr&la=F&cn=1948081901&table_name=loi

• 41

  See https://www.rtbf.be/article/service-minimum-en-cas-de-greve-qui-est-concerne-10143989 and https://www.securex.be/fr/lex4you/employeur/themes/concertation-sociale/greve/existe-t-il-un-service-minimum-en-cas-de-greve-le-cas-echeant,-peut-il-etre-impose

• 42

  See https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/blog/de-nombreuses-requisitions-du-personnel-en-2021

• 43

  See https://etaamb.openjustice.be/fr/loi-du-29-novembre-2017_n2017040982.html

• 44

  WSI Arbeitskampfbilanz 2023, by Heiner Dribbusch, Thorsten Schulten, Marlena Sophie Luth, Thilo Janssen, WSI, 2024 https://www.wsi.de/fpdf/HBS-008882/p_wsi_report_95_2024.pdf

• 45

  Rapport concernant les résultats de la concertation sectorielle en 2023-2024, by Guy van Gyes et al, SPF, 2024 https://emploi.belgique.be/sites/default/files/content/publications/FR/Rapport%20concertation%20sociale%20sectorielle%202023-2024.pdf

• 46

  ibid

• 47

  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 inMulti-employer bargaining under pressure: decentralisation trends in five European countries, edited by Salvo Leonardi and Roberto Pedersini, ETUI, 2018 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/Chapter%203_6.pdf

• 48

   Le salaire minimum en Belgique, CNT, 2024 https://cnt-nar.be/fr/documents/cct-par-theme?f%5B0%5D=theme%3AR%C3%A9mun%C3%A9ration

• 49

  For more information on the minimum wage see Collective bargaining and minimum wage regime in

  Belgium by Sem Vandekerckhove, HIVA Research Institute for Work and Society. 2025 https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/Belgium_Collective%20bargaining%20and%20minimum%20wage%20regime_2025.pdf

• 50

  Conseil central de l’économie (CCE) https://www.ccecrb.fgov.be/ and Conseil National du Travail https://cnt-nar.be/fr

• 51

  Loi du 20 septembre 1948 portant organisation de l’économie, 1948 https://emploi.belgique.be/sites/default/files/content/documents/Concertation%20sociale/R%C3%A9glementation/Loi%20du%2020%20septembre%201948%20portant%20organisation%20de%20l.pdf

• 52

  Représentation du personnel, CNT https://cnt-nar.be/fr/documents/cct-par-theme?f%5B0%5D=theme%3ARepr%C3%A9sentation%20du%20personnel

• 53

  Résultats définitifs des élections sociales 2024 – CE, Table A1 https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/elections-sociales-2024/resultats-definitifs-des-elections-sociales-0  and Résultats définitifs des élections sociales 2024 – CPPT, Table A1

• 54

  European Company Survey 2019 - Workplace practices unlocking employee potential, by Gijs van Houten and Giovanni Russo, Eurofound 2020, Figures for Table 72 https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/system/files/2020-11/ef20001en.pdf

• 55

  Élections Sociales 2024 Brochure explicative, SPF, 2023, page 31 https://emploi.belgique.be/sites/default/files/content/documents/Concertation%20sociale/ElectionsSociales2024_Brochure_explicative.pdf 

• 56

  Résultats définitifs élections sociales 2024 - CE, SPF Table B6  https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/elections-sociales-2024/resultats-definitifs-des-elections-sociales-0

• 57

  Résultats définitifs élections sociales 2024 - CE, Service public fédéral Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale, Tables HI  https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/elections-sociales-2024/resultats-definitifs-des-elections-sociales-0 and Résultats définitifs des élections sociales 2024 – CPPT, SPF, Table H1 https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/elections-sociales-2024/resultats-definitifs-des-elections-sociales-1

• 58

  For a delayed description of the works council’s tasks, see Les missions du Conseil d’entreprise, SPF, https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/organes-et-procedures-de-concertation-dans-lentreprise-ce-cppt-ds-22 

• 59

  Loi portant un régime de licenciement particulier pour les délégués du personnel aux conseils d'entreprise et aux comités de sécurité, d'hygiène et d'embellissement des lieux de travail, ainsi que pour les candidats délégués du personnel, 1991, as amended http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/loi/1991/03/19/1991012215/justel and https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/organes-et-procedures-de-concertation-dans-lentreprise-ce-cppt-ds-etc-3

• 60

  Convention Collective de Travail No. 5 du 24 Mai 1971 Concernant le Statut des Délégations Syndicales du Personnel des Entreprises, as subsequently amended http://www.cnt-nar.be/CCT-COORD/cct-005.pdf and https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/organes-et-procedures-de-concertation-dans-lentreprise-ce-cppt-ds-etc-4#toc_heading_6

• 61

  Le statut des membres de la délégation des travailleurs, Service public fédéral Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale https://emploi.belgique.be/fr/themes/concertation-sociale/organes-et-procedures-de-concertation-dans-lentreprise-ce-cppt-ds-11#toc_heading_7

• 62

  Le crédit d'heures de formation syndicale Dans Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP 1973/10 (n° 596)  https://www.cairn.info/revue-courrier-hebdomadaire-du-crisp-1973-10-page-1.html

• 63

  CCT constructions métallique, mécanique et électrique 1 March 1972

• 64

  Formations des militantes et militants CNE 2025-26 https://www.lacsc.be/docs/default-source/acv-csc-docsitemap/6000-centrales/6550-cne/6640-publications/formation-25-26.pdf?sfvrsn=9cc463d_3

• 65

  For information on the discussion and reality of board-level employee representation in Belgium see Heavens no! Board-level employee representation in Belgium by Stan De Spiegelaere in Lafuente S. (ed.) (Forthcoming) Revisiting worker representation on boards: the forgotten EU countries in codetermination studies, ETUI

• 66

  ibid

• 67

  STIB/MIBB Rapport de transparence 2024, October 2025 https://www.stib-mivb.be/a-propos-de-la-stib/transparence

• 68

  Raad van Bestuur van De Lijn https://www.delijn.be/nl/content/organisatie/raad-van-bestuur/

• 69

  Conseil d'administration du TEC https://www.letec.be/View/Le_TEC_cest_quoi_/221

• 70

  Convention Collective de Travail N° 101 du 21 Decembre 2010 concernant l'information et la consultation des travailleurs dans les entreprises de dimension communautaire et les groupes

  d'entreprises de dimension communautaire https://cnt-nar.be/sites/default/files/documents/CCT-COORD/cct-101.pdf

• 71

  Convention Collective de Travail N° 84 du 6 Octobre 2004 concernant l'implication des travailleurs dans la Societe Europeenne, modifiee par la convention Collective de Travail N° 84 bis du 21 Decembre 2010 https://cnt-nar.be/sites/default/files/documents/fr/cct%2084.pdf

• 72

  Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 2019): Overview Report How European workplaces manage safety and health, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/esener-2019-overview-report-how-european-workplaces-manage-safety-and-health

• 73

  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