Social elections bring little change

May 2000 saw the 13th round of "social elections" in Belgium, with approximately 1.3 million employees in nearly 6,000 companies entitled to elect their representatives on works councils and committees for prevention and protection at the workplace. As expected, the social elections did not result in major changes in the balances of power between the three main trade union confederations. At the national level, few or no changes were observed, while at the level of regions and sectors, the trends of the previous social elections in 1995 were confirmed. We present the preliminary results, based on 90% of the votes counted.

The results of workforce "social elections" of employee representatives on works councils and committees for prevention and protection at the workplace - on the basis of lists of candidates mainly drawn up by trade unions - are, along with trade union membership figures, one of the objective measures of the relative power positions of the various Belgian unions. The results largely determine the composition of trade union representation in all kinds of (semi) public, bipartite and other bodies - such as the National Labour Council (Nationale Arbeidsraad/Conseil National du Travail) and Central Economic Council (Centrale Raad voor het Bedrijfsleven/Conseil Central de l'Economie) at national level and joint committee s at the sectoral level of negotiation. Social elections are thus a crucial element in the institutional incorporation of the trade unions.

A works council (ondernemingsraad/conseil d'entreprise, OR/CE) is obligatory in companies with 100 employees and over. It is a bipartite body in which representatives of the workers and management are present. Works councils have only limited decision-making powers, setting annual holiday periods and organising - under management control - so-called "social funds", but they are the most prominent forum for the discussion of issues of mutual concern. Since 1996, works councils have been given responsibility for drawing up a "social balance sheet" - a detailed yearly report which companies must submit to the central accounts administration of the National Bank, outlining the development of personnel issues, flows of staff, vocational training, and the use of government employment incentives. Further, the works council checks upon the application of employment laws, submits opinions on employment, education and the introduction of new technologies, and is informed on economic and financial company transactions. Finally, work rules and hiring and dismissal procedures are discussed in the works council.

A committee for prevention and protection at the workplace (comité voor preventie en bescherming op het werk/comité pour la prévention et protection au travail, CPBW/CPPT) - formerly known as the workplace health and safety committee- is obligatory in companies with 50 employees or more and is also a joint body. The committee looks after safety, health and the protection of the living and working environment, as well as the application of legislation relevant to this matter.

History of social elections

Social elections are held every four years. The first elections to works councils were held in 1950 and to committees for prevention and protection at the workplace in 1958. Examining the social elections results of the past half-century, the general picture is one of a gradual erosion of the position of the socialist Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV) in favour of its Christian counterpart, the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV). The turning point came with the 1975 elections, when the relative power balance of the socialist and Christian trade unions reversed to the advantage of the latter.

The continual decline of ABVV/FGTB can largely be explained by the development of the structure of the economy. The socialist unions always held a dominant position in the large enterprises of the Walloon region, where basic and heavy industry, including coal-mining and steel production, was located. With the decline of such industry, the traditional strongholds of the socialist unions were undermined. Simultaneously, the Christian trade unions made successful inroads in the growing not-for-profit sector.

The history of the smallest of the trio of national union confederations, the Federation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (Algemene Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België/Centrale Générale des Syndicaux Libéraux de Belgique, ACLVB/CGSLB) is a small-scale success story. A gradual increase in the number of votes obtained by ACLVB/CGSLB in works council elections can be observed from the very beginning of social elections (from 3.5% of the vote for works councils in 1954 to 8.3% in 1995).

The 1995 social elections gave ACV/CSC 58.56% of the seats on works councils, followed by ABVV/FGTB with 33.72% and ACLVB/CGSLB with 4.98%. Besides the three main trade union organisations, some votes go to the National Confederation of Managerial Staff (Nationale Confederatie voor Kaderleden/ Confédération Nationale des Cadres, NCK/CNC) and a number of independent lists. Their importance is negligible. In 1995 they held, together, no more than 2.7% of seats on works councils, and a similar proportion of seats on committees for prevention and protection at the workplace. A breakdown of results by region shows a decline for the Christian trade unions in Flanders, whereas the socialist trade unions lost more ground in the Walloon region.

The 2000 social elections

Under normal circumstances, the latest social elections should have taken place in 1999, but the then Minister of Labour and Employment, Miet Smet, decided to postpone the elections by one year (BE9805144N). The reason was that in May 1999 negotiations on the conclusion of collective agreements were still underway in several sectors, and the minister feared that an election contest might interfere with the wage bargaining process. As this was supposed to take place within the limits imposed by a wage norm (BE9811252F), a situation in which trade unions entered into competition with each other was to be avoided.

For the 2000 round of social elections, held on 8-21 May 2000 (BE0001302N), the three main trade unions, NCK/CNC and a number of independent lists presented a total of 120,000 candidates. Some 21,000 seats were up for grabs in works councils and some 28,000 in committees for prevention and protection at the workplace. Elections for the former were organised in 3,218 companies and for the latter in 5,642 companies.

Electoral programmes

Before the start of the elections, the unions agreed that the election campaign should be conducted in a "sober" manner. The electoral programmes of the three main confederations did not differ fundamentally from one another. This is hardly a surprise, since the trade unions traditionally often act together in a common front, as illustrated by the joint platforms of demands with which the unions enter into negotiations with employers' organisations. Despite being diverse, the unions' campaign slogans all referred to themes related to the quality of life and work (such as stress at work). The "fighting spirit" shown during the 1995 social elections, inspired - among other factors - by high unemployment rates, gave way to a pragmatic programme that reflected a situation of economic revival.

Results of the 2000 elections

The 13th round of social elections has not fundamentally changed the power balances between the three main trade union confederations. At the national level, the Christian ACV/CSC retained its dominant position with nearly 57% of the seats on works councils and 59% of the seats on committees for prevention and protection at the workplace. The socialist ABVV/FGTB is equally represented in both representative bodies, with one third of the seats. The liberal ACLVB/CGSLB increased the number of seats it holds on both works councils (6.22%) and committees for prevention and protection at the workplace (6.11%). Moreover, for the first time in the history of the social elections, ACLVB/CGSLB obtained over 10% of votes in the works council elections.

Table 1 below presents the results of the 2000 and 1995 elections for the main trade unions in both votes and seats, on both works councils and committees for prevention and protection at the workplace. The 2000 figures are based on 90% of the votes counted.