Social partners put forward demands in negotiations for intersectoral agreement

In the autumn of 2006, the main social partners were due to enter into negotiations aimed at concluding an intersectoral agreement for the period 2007–2008. In anticipation of the imminent negotiations, the trade unions, and to a lesser extent the employer organisations, outlined their main demands during September and October 2006.

Background

During the autumn of 2006, the social partners were due to enter into negotiations aimed at concluding an intersectoral collective agreement for 2007–2008. The agreement would cover all workers in the private sector, including both blue-collar and white-collar workers. It aimed to set overall parameters for national, sectoral, regional and company bargaining on pay and employment conditions for the two-year period. This time, the conclusion of the intersectoral agreement constituted an even bigger challenge. Two years ago, the social partners failed to reach a compromise and, consequently, no agreement was concluded for the period 2005–2006 (BE0412301N, BE0502302F).

On the trade union side, the organisations involved in the bargaining were the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV), the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (Centrale Générale des Syndicats Libéraux de Belgique/Algemene Centrale der Liberale Vakbonden van België, CGSLB/ACLVB) and the Belgian General Confederation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV).

The following employer organisations also took part in the negotiations: the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique/Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen, FEB/VBO); the two organisations representing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), namely the Union of the Middle Classes (Union des Classes Moyennes, UCM) and the Organisation of the Self-Employed (Unie van Zelfstandige Ondernemers, UNIZO); the two farmers’ unions – the Wallonia Confederation of Agriculture (Fédération wallonne de l’agriculture, FWA) and Boerenbond – brought together in Agrofront.

In anticipation of the start of the negotiations, the trade unions, and to a lesser extent the employer organisations, set out their main social demands during September and October 2006.

Employer demands

The main employer organisation, FEB/VBO, declared that it wanted the negotiations to focus on the recovery of Belgian competitiveness. According to Jean-Claude Daoust, President of FEB/VBO, in the last 10 years, Belgium has lost an average 1% of its annual market share for exports. In order to counter this decline, Mr Daoust called for the encouragement of innovation on the one hand, and for a decrease in taxes and wage moderation on the other.

Trade union demands

In September 2006, CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV presented a joint list of trade union demands. In general, they insisted that workers should also benefit from the results of economic growth. At the same time, CGSLB/ACLVB highlighted the main elements for the framework of the intersectoral negotiations for 2007–2008.

The following priorities were highlighted:

• Income increase: CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV are looking for an increase in the gross minimum wage. This is long overdue, they argue, given that the last increase in the guaranteed minimum wage dated back to 1993. Since that year, the minimum wage has only increased through automatic indexation (BE0202308F). According to CGSLB/ACLVB, the net purchasing power of workers needs to be increased. To this end, income tax must be reduced and measures aimed at reconciling family and working life must be established; such measures would include higher tax deductibility in relation to professional expenses, and higher contributions by the employer for costs related to commuting to and from the workplace using public transport.

• Vocational training: CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV, along with the CGSLB/ACLVB, outlined the necessity to reinforce the right to receive vocational training. CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV do not accept the recent measures taken by the government, which aims to cut costs related to the paid educational leave system (BE0610039I). At the union’s 33rd congress, held in Ostend in October, President of CSC/ACV, Luc Cortebeeck, insisted on the ‘rights of workers to receive vocational training’, while calling for ‘disciplinary actions against employers who try to avoid their obligations in this field’.

CSC/ACV and FGTB/ABVV cite ‘improvement in quality of employment’ as the third most important priority. They also wish to put an end to the growing number of flexible employment contracts, at the same time insisting that part-time contracts should be improved and better working conditions developed. These measures would in turn help to make work more attractive for unemployed people.

In terms of competitiveness, CGSLB/ACLVB consider that a macroeconomic policy of wage moderation in accordance with those of Belgium’s three neighbouring countries is outmoded, as it fails to provide the desired outcome. The wage norm, decided at intersectoral level, should constitute a minimum increase for all sectors of activity. However, this norm must be seen only as a benchmark and wage increases should be negotiated at sectoral level, taking into account the economic status of the sector concerned.

In addition, the issues of equal pay for men and women and the development of the time credit system were highlighted (BE0108360F).

Delphine Rochet, Institut des Sciences du Travail (IST), Catholic University of Leuven