Thousands march for employment status
With barely a month to go before the federal government’s deadline to come up with a proposal, 30,000 members of the socialist and Christian trade unions last week demonstrated in Brussels in favour of an end to the legal demarcation between “workers” and “employees”.
Government in talks for solutions to the outdated legal status of workers
In Belgium, unlike in any other European country, the law differentiates between arbeiders – originally manual labourers – and bedienden, which are generally white-collar workers. The distinction, created in the 19th century, effects employment rights in the areas of holiday entitlement, overtime pay, sick leave and notice required in the event of redundancy. As a general rule, employees receive better treatment than labourers. To take one example, employees are paid from the first day of sick leave, whereas labourers are not.
In 2011, the Constitutional Court ruled that the distinction was discriminatory and gave the government two years to change the law. That term will expire in late July. Federal labour minister Monica De Coninck is in negotiations with the social partners – government, employers and unions – to find a solution.
The unions support bringing the rights of labourers in line with the rights of employees. Employers, on the other hand, do not want to support any measure that would increase costs – an already weighty subject, with Belgium one of the highest in the EU in terms of labour costs.
Last week Geert Bruyneel, CEO of Volvo Ghent, said the factory would have to close if labour costs had to increase. The plant, which employs 5,000 people, is one of only three remaining car manufacturing plants in Belgium, but Volvo’s owners, the Chinese Geely group, are currently completing the construction of two factories in China.
