Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Belgium (Ratification: 1951)

For several years, the Committee has been drawing the Government's attention to the need to take steps for the adoption by legislative means of objective, predetermined and detailed criteria to govern the rules for the access for workers' and employers' occupational organisations to the National Labour Council and to the various public and private sector committees in which binding collective agreements are formulated, in order to avoid any possibility of partiality or abuse in the choice of organisations authorised to sit on these bodies.

In its last report, the Government merely points out that representativity among organisations is not static, but is slow to change. It adds that division into too many competing organisations and corporatism tends to distort and even obstruct collective bargaining. It also states that legislative amendments can only be introduced with caution into a system which has been tried and tested, but that it is paying heed to these problems which affect both private and public sectors.

In addition, the Committee has been informed that no seats were assigned to the National Confederation of Executive Staff on the National Labour Council when it was renewed for four years on 15 December 1990, despite the fact that objective, predetermined and detailed criteria have not been adopted to govern the rules for access to the above Council.

The Committee must therefore remind the Government that to draw a distinction between the most representative unions and other unions is not incompatible with the right to organise if such a distinction is based on objective, predetermined and detailed criteria.

The Committee once again expresses the hope that the Government will indicate in its next report the measures taken or envisaged to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.