Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Belgium (Ratification: 1953)

Observations received from trade union organizations. In its previous direct request, the Committee had noted the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in a communication dated 26 August 2009 reporting that there had been anti-union dismissals despite the protection afforded by the Act of 19 March 1991 establishing special rules on dismissal applying to staff representatives on works councils and on committees for safety, health and the enhancement of workplaces, and for candidates standing for such office. The Committee notes that the ITUC reiterates its comments in a communication dated 4 August 2011. The Committee notes the Government’s reply indicating that the Act provides for the possibility for an unlawfully dismissed worker, who has submitted his or her candidature for the position of a trade union official, to make a request for his or her reinstatement in the enterprise. The employer has a 30-day period in which to reply to such a request. The reinstatement, or its refusal, might have repercussions on the amount of compensation that the employer has to pay the worker concerned. The Government acknowledges that as the law stands now, there is no obligation for the employer to reinstate a worker, but the possibility exists. This lack of obligation is nevertheless compensated by the employers’ obligation to pay an additional allowance that is considerably high, with a maximum of eight years of pay in the case of unlawful dismissal upon refusal to reinstate the worker within the 30-day period. The Committee takes note of this information.

The Committee notes the communication dated 31 August 2011 from the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (CGSLB–Syndicat libéral) concerning the mechanism of establishing the maximum margin of growth in labour costs established by the Act of 26 July 1996, implemented by the Royal Decree of 28 March 2001. The Committee notes the Government’s reply thereon.