National pay negotiations continue in Belgium

Negotiations on a national agreement on pay and conditions in Belgium were still underway as Bargaining Report went to press, although a settlement was expected for the end of November.

The negotiations aim to provide a framework for later negotiations at industry and company level which will set pay and conditions for 2001 and 2002. The final settlement is limited by a Belgian law on competitiveness and employment which states that pay should not increase more rapidly in Belgium than in its most important neighbours, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

The unions have called for this pay norm to be abandoned but the government is not willing to do so and has set the maximum increase over the next two years at 6.4%. Key demands from the unions are a substantial increase in the national minimum wage, currently Euro1,117.97 per month at age 21, the generalised introduction of a 38-hour working week, double pay for two extra days of holiday (18 out of the current 20 days of holiday are currently paid double), harmonisation of treatment for manual and non-manual workers and removing the requirement to wait for one day before sick pay is provided. The unions are also looking for the employers to contribute to an international trade union solidarity fund.