Tripartite talks lead to deal on management of Brussels labour market

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In June 2003, after talks between employers, trade unions and the regional government, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region approved an order on the management of the region's labour market. The measure provides for the 'mixed' management of the labour market, involving both the regional employment office, private employment agencies and not-for-profit bodies.

On 12 June 2003, the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region (Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Raad/Conseil de la Région Bruxelles-Capitale) approved an order on the 'mixed' management of the regional labour market. This move followed the adoption in March 1999 by the Flemish parliament (Vlaams Parlement) of legislation which removed the public monopoly on employment agencies, and represents a key development in the Brussels regional government’s employment policy. The order was drawn up after long and intense talks between employers, trade unions and the Brussels regional government, and should be seen in the light of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 181 on private employment agencies.

Labour market and employment policy in Brussels

Unemployment in Brussels-Capital region has increased sharply over the last few years and in June 2003 the Brussels Regional Employment Office (Brusselse Gewestelijke Dienst voor Arbeidsbemiddeling/Office Régional Bruxellois de l’Emploi, BGDA/ORBEM) registered 81,700 people as unemployed and looking for work. In mid-2003, the unemployment rate in the Brussels-Capital region was 20.3%, compared with 16.6% in Wallonia, 7.5% in Flanders and 7.5% nationally. The employment situation in the Brussels-Capital region is unique, with more than half of all jobs occupied by commuters from the Wallonia and Flanders regions. Moreover, the employment rate is substantially lower (54%) than the national average (60%).

Under the federal structure of the Belgian state, the federal government, the regions and the communities have both shared and mixed responsibilities with regard to employment issues. Without going into detail, unemployment regulation is solely the responsibility of the federal government, employment policy is both a federal and regional matter, job placement and re-employment are the responsibility of the regions (Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels), and aspects of training and education are organised by the communities (Dutch-speaking and French-speaking).

The Brussels-Capital regional government has a limited influence on employment policy. This also follows from the specific institutional situation of the (bilingual) Brussels-Capital region. As noted above, today only unemployment regulation remains as a purely federal matter, and employment issues have been devolved to the regions. The federal government finances the regional programmes for the re-employment of unemployed people. In the Brussels-Capital region, employment, placement and the re-employment of unemployed people have become the responsibility of BGDA/ORBEM. Vocational training on the other hand belongs to the communities, which each have their own institutions in the Capital region for this purpose. This distribution means that employment policy is a shared responsibility of the regions and the federal government.

ILO Convention on private employment agencies

ILO Convention No. 181 provides that commercial private employment agencies should have the opportunity to act as fully fledged employment agencies, thus breaking any government monopoly over employment agencies and labour market placement and intermediation. Although Belgium has not yet ratified the Convention, in 1999 legislation was passed in Flanders to allow private agencies - and mainly temporary work agencies - to operate as employment agencies. It is the precarious situation of the Brussels labour market that has now prompted the Brussels-Capital regional government to adopt more suitable rules for employment agencies.

Content of the order

In his explanation during the debate in the Council of the Brussels-Capital Region on the draft order, prior to adoption in June 2003, the Minister concerned, Eric Tomas, stated that the basis for the order was to create cooperation and partnerships between the different labour market operators, irrespective of whether they are in the public or private sector, and separate from the fact of whether they are purely of a commercial or non-commercial nature.

Four operators

The order on the mixed management of the Brussels labour market identifies four 'employment operators', each with their own role and part to play:

• BGDA/ORBEM is the central player and is responsible for the free provision of services in order to achieve full employment and the balanced development of the Brussels labour market;

• private employment agencies operating on a commercial basis form the second partner. These are temporary work agencies, 'headhunters', commercial employee recruitment and selection agencies, outplacement agencies, and commercial employment agencies for artists and professional sportspeople;

• careers offices for schools, set up by educational institutions for their former pupils, are the third partner; and

• non-commercial employment operators which largely target 'socio-professional' recruitment - such as local projects, local employment agencies and a number of 'official centres for mutual welfare'- make up the fourth partner.

Involvement of private agencies in policy

The order sets out the precise terms and conditions for cooperation between BGDA/ORBEM, private employment agencies and other employment operators. The recognition of private employment agencies is a key point. Commercial employment agencies have been further set in a legal framework and have been brought into the policy. The order also sets out the exclusive roles of BGDA/ORBEM, such as processing the personal data of unemployed people and the management of their path to finding a job.

A forthcoming new framework agreement between BGDA/ORBEM and private agencies should ensure that cooperation is not just limited to an intention, but also involves clear and precisely demarcated mutual obligations. If such an agreement does not come into being, there is still the possibility for private agencies to contribute to policy by paying a financial contribution to a regional employment fund for Brussels. This fund will largely have a financing role.

The place given by the new order to other not-for-profit employment operators, which are not organised by the regional authorities, is unique. They have been fully included in the mixed management of the Brussels job market. Their contribution to regional employment policy is fully developed, with due regard for the specific nature of these organisations alongside BGDA/ORBEM and the private agencies.

Focus on non-discrimination

As a multicultural region, the Brussels-Capital region attaches a great deal of importance to maximum protection for employees and unemployed people from discrimination. The new order contains a series of rules that apply to all employment operators concerning equal treatment, non-discrimination in recruitment, free services for unemployed people, respect for private life and social rights, objectivity etc.

'Labour police'

To ensure observance of the order's rules, a 'labour police force' (arbeidspolitie/police de l'emploi) has been set up to supervise their application, which can impose criminal penalties and administrative fines. This supervision of all employment operators authorised to operate in the Brussels-Capital region will be conducted by the Labour Inspectorate of the relevant ministry.

Independent consultative platform

The order also provides for the formation of an 'independent consultative platform', with representatives of all parties involved in the mixed management of the Brussels-Capital labour market. The purpose of this platform is to encourage cooperation between operators, to make recommendations to the government regarding the organisation of the labour market, to set the practical management rules, and to monitor the ban on any form of discrimination on the labour market.

Commentary

The acceptance of the order on the mixed management of the labour market not only indicates that employment operators are slowly mobilising on a large scale, but also shows that the Brussels-Capital region is able to develop specific labour market instruments based on cooperation with existing players in the region, and this within its own constraints. The inclusion of private, and thus commercial, employment agencies in employment policy is an interesting exercise that will have to be closely monitored, given the less than favourable job market in the capital region. (Marjolein Geens, Jacques Vilrokx and Jurgen Oste, TESA/VUB)