The IPA is a regular ritual in Belgium. Every two years the "Group of Ten" - representatives of the main employers federations, the unions and the farming industry (who in fact number 11) - gets around the table to negotiate the rules for the private sector concerning a wide range of subjects, including training, minimum wage, pensions, work status, unemployment. Talks this time around started in November, and the proposal is a result.

The largest union in the country, the Christian ACV, voted in favour of the bill with a majority of 68%,
although general secretary Luc Cortebeeck said the approval had been given "without much enthusiasm and with a lot of frustration". The ACV's professional section LBC, meanwhile, voted the IPA down by a majority of 94%. The ABVV's professional section BTKK was unanimous in its disapproval, whereas the union as a whole voted No with a 75% majority. The liberal union ACLVB was closer to the proposal, but still 55% voted against.

One of the main bones of contention is the idea of scrapping the difference between labourers and employees, two statuses which carry different rights. Employees fear their status will be downgraded. That's why the white collar sections LBC and BTKK were so vehement in their rejection of the proposal.

The question now facing the government is whether to go ahead and implement the proposal without union support or, if not, how to overcome the problems. The existing agreement of the employers and the ACV might ordinarily have given the proposal enough legitimacy to be enforced despite opposition - as happened in 2005 when a similar situation arose. But the government of Yves Leterme is a caretaker government with no working majority, which is supposed to handle existing business, not push through new measures. Particularly sensitive will be the position of socialist party members faced with the prospect of ignoring the wishes of the socialist union.

Thomas Leysen, the outgoing chairman of the Belgian Enterprise Federation, who also chairs the Group of Ten, last weekend told De Morgen: "The best thing that can happen now is for the government to take this agreement and implement it in full. This is a historic compromise between unions and employers. I hope all our work will not have been for nothing."

The employers fear the government may respond to union opposition by cherry-picking the proposal, accepting, for example, an extension of bridging pensions and an increase in unemployment benefits, but dropping the wage- rise ceiling of 0.3% above inflation - something many employers feel is already too high.

This week, according to Leterme, the "normal procedure" would be followed: bilateral meetings with the various partners, then a decision by the council of ministers. "We shall see what is possible," the prime minister told the VRT. "This is an important dossier which we have to manage properly."