Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Belgium (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (CSC), the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium (CGSLB) and the General Labour Federation of Belgium (FGTB), received on 30 August 2024, as well as the Government’s reply to these observations, received on 14 November 2024.

Article 1 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. Labour market trends. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, over three years (June 2021 to May 2024), the labour market was disrupted by successive crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, and that, despite these crises, employment has been relatively stable. It notes, in particular, that the employment rate (persons aged 20 to 64 years old) rose from 71.9 per cent in 2022 to 72.1 per cent in 2023, and that Belgium has set itself a target of 80 per cent employment by 2030, involving some 550,000 additional people. According to the Belgian statistical office (STATBEL), the employment rate reached 73.3 per cent during the second quarter of 2025. The Committee also notes the 2023 data showing the employment gaps for groups in vulnerable situations (46.8 per cent for people with a low level of education and 57.4 per cent for people from countries outside the European Union), as well as unemployment rates that vary between regions, with 5.6 per cent nationally in 2023, and 10.7 per cent in Brussels, 8.2 per cent in Wallonia and 3.3 per cent in Flanders. According to STATBEL, the unemployment rate was estimated at 5.9 per cent during the second quarter of 2025. Furthermore, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), employment gaps for women, older people, foreign-born and people with disabilities remain large in Belgium; improving the integration of these groups in the labour market would reduce socio-economic inequalities, boost economic potential and improve public finances (OECD Economic Surveys: Belgium 2024). With regard to persons with disabilities, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 30 September 2024, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) noted with concern that rates of employment of persons with disabilities are low and remain below the European average, and that there has been no discernible progress towards an inclusive labour market, the majority of employed persons with disabilities working in sheltered workshops (CRPD/C/BEL/CO/2–3, para. 54(a)).

The Government has taken steps to boost employment since its last report, particularly following the adoption of the Act of 3 October 2022 containing various provisions relating to work. This Act incorporates the measures taken under the “Jobsdeal”, which aims to reform labour law to address new ways of working and contribute to the Government’s target of increasing the employment rate to 80 per cent by 2030. The Committee notes the measures described in the Government’s report, particularly those relating to supporting dismissed workers (the transition process and the promotion of employability), training and the reform and extension of flexi-jobs. The Government indicates that the reform of flexi-jobs has been seeking to establish a clear framework to prevent misuse and the erosion of regular jobs and to address the problem of labour shortages at the federal level by extending the flexi-job system to new sectors of employment since 1 April 2024. According to statistics from the National Social Security Office, 130,765 people were in flexi-jobs during the fourth quarter of 2023, compared with 108,074 during the fourth quarter of 2022. According to the CSC, CGSLB and FGTB, the Act of 3 October 2022 provides for an assessment by the National Labour Council (CNT) of some measures that it introduced on 30 June 2024, but such assessments have not yet taken place. It is therefore still too early to know whether these measures have had an impact. With regard to the extension and reform of flexi-jobs, the trade union organizations consider that this is not an appropriate response to the shortages experienced in certain sectors. The organizations consider flexi-jobs to be extremely precarious contracts that do not provide workers with stability or provide a sustainable solution to sectoral shortages, especially in terms of working conditions. Furthermore, the extension of the flexi-job scheme does not affect only sectors experiencing shortages and creates a real risk of gradually replacing quality jobs in these sectors. In its reply to the observations of the trade union organizations, the Government recalls that the reform was introduced with the aim, inter alia, of preventing misuse and inappropriate use of the flexi-job system. The Committee notes that the analysis provided by the social partners echoes the concerns identified in the European Semester. The European Commission’s 2024 report on Belgium and the resulting country-specific recommendations, while supporting the quantitative target of an 80 per cent employment rate, highlight the persistence of major structural challenges. The European Commission emphasizes the need to support under-represented groups (people with a low level of education, people born outside the European Union, older workers) and tackle low rates of labour mobility and skills mismatches. The European Commission’s analysis highlights the fact that, beyond simply creating jobs, Belgium must improve the structural functioning of its labour market to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth and reduce segmentation. The Committee notes that the labour market remains characterized by a high vacancy rate and structural labour shortages that are hindering economic growth and requests the Government to provide information on how the national strategy is coordinated between the federal State and the federated entities to address these structural labour shortages and skills mismatches in a targeted manner. Given Belgium’s target of achieving an employment rate of 80 per cent by 2030 and the employment gaps for groups in vulnerable situations, as highlighted by both the OECD and the European Commission in the European Semester, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the nature, scope and impact of active labour market measures, especially those aimed at improving the employment rates of women, older people, people with a low level of education, people from outside the European Union and people with disabilities. In particular, it requests information on the specific measures taken to address the concerns of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) regarding the lack of “discernible progress towards an inclusive labour market” and to describe the efforts made to ensure a real transition from sheltered workshops to the open labour market.

The Committee notes the observations of the social partners (CSC, CGSLB and FGTB) that the expansion of flexi-jobs poses a “real risk of gradually replacing quality jobs”. It notes that these concerns coincide with the European Commission’s analyses in the 2024 European Semester, which, while supporting the target of 80 per cent, highlight the risks of labour market segmentation and working poverty associated with the proliferation of non-standard contracts. Recalling that Convention No. 122 aims to promote productive employment (Article 1(1)), which implies a qualitative dimension as highlighted in its General Surveys of 2010 and 2020, the Committee requests the Government to provide a detailed analysis of how it ensures that the pursuit of the quantitative target of 80 per cent is not at the expense of the quality and stability of employment. It requests, in particular, information on the monitoring mechanisms in place to assess and prevent substitution effects (the replacement of regular jobs with flexi-jobs). Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to forward the National Labour Council’s assessments of the “Jobsdeal” measures, which, according to the social partners, were expected as of June 2024, together with information on their impact on job security and working conditions. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to combat involuntary part-time work and to facilitate the transition of workers, particularly women, to quality full-time jobs. It further requests information on the impact of the law on wage transparency in reducing the gender pay gap.

Education and training policies. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s indications, the Act of 3 October 2022 requires the establishment of an annual training plan for all workers. This training plan must include training for people belonging to at-risk groups, such as people over the age of 50 and workers with disabilities. Moreover, the plan must also provide for training to address the lack of candidates for occupations in short supply in the employer’s sector. The social partners may, through a collective labour agreement, set the minimum requirements that a training plan must meet. The Committee notes with interest that the Act of 3 October 2022 also provides for an individual training entitlement. Previously, the training entitlement was collective and consisted of an average number of training days per full-time equivalent, distributed throughout the enterprise, but now it is individual and applies to each worker. If the enterprise has at least 20 employees, the number of training days is 5 per year per full-time worker. If the enterprise has between 10 and 20 employees, the entitlement is one day per full-time worker per year. The Government indicates that it has set up a new online tool, the Federal Learning Account, which is a database containing all the relevant information for recording and managing individual training entitlements. The account provides workers with an overview of all the available training courses and their training entitlements. The Committee also notes the various measures taken at the regional level, including, in Brussels, the “training-employment” courses and the tailoring of programmes to occupations in demand; in Flanders, the promotion of work-based learning and the launch of “learning jobs”; and, in the German-speaking community, the new status of trainees in the context of needs-based placements. With regard to the introduction of an individual training entitlement, the CSC, CGSLB and FGTB consider this to be a very positive development. However, these organizations regret that the training entitlement is limited to one day per year for enterprises with between 10 and 20 employees, and that workers in enterprises with fewer than ten employees are not eligible. The Committee notes that, according to the OECD, self-employed workers, people on non-standard employment contracts, and employees of small enterprises are excluded from the system; yet these groups, which are already disadvantaged in the labour market and under-represented in training, are precisely those who would need support (OECD Economic Surveys: Belgium 2024).

The Committee considers that the introduction of the individual training entitlement and the creation of the Federal Learning Account are important steps forward. It nevertheless notes the concurring observations of the social partners and the OECD that the legal framework excludes workers in very small enterprises, self-employed workers and non-standard workers, which are the groups that are already least likely to participate in continuous training. The Committee therefore urges the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the impact of the measures taken to coordinate training policies with employment policies (including for occupations in short supply). It requests, in particular, the Government to provide an initial assessment of the implementation of the individual training entitlement and to indicate what alternative measures it intends to take to ensure effective access to lifelong learning for workers in enterprises with less than ten employees and other groups in vulnerable situations not covered by the Act of 3 October 2022.

Youth employment. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government reports an improvement in the employment rate for young people under the age of 25 after the pandemic, with a rate of 24.7 per cent in 2021, 26 per cent in 2022 and 26.3 per cent in 2023, while the unemployment rate decreased to 18.2 per cent in 2021, 16.4 per cent in 2022 and 16.1 per cent in 2023. The Committee notes that, according to STATBEL, the youth unemployment rate (15–24 years old) continues to fall, reaching 14.5 per cent during the second quarter of 2025. It also notes the measures taken to promote youth employment, including the continuation of the “Youth Guarantee”, the increase in the “Stage First” programme (monthly subsidy increased from €200 to €500), the rollout of a new partnership agreement in 2024 to better support young people particularly struggling to enter the labour market, the continuation of the “Boost” project in the Walloon Region, and, in Flanders, the expansion of the “Dual Learning” programme. The Committee nevertheless notes the observations of the CSC, CGSLB and FGTB, according to which integration contracts have been completely abolished without consulting the social partners and without the Government putting any alternatives in place. The trade union organizations indicate that this is a severe blow to the social sector, where these contracts are primarily used. These contracts often reached the young people furthest from the world of work, particularly women from the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Considering that overall statistical improvements may mask persistent difficulties for certain groups in vulnerable situations, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the abolition of integration contracts, including information on the alternative measures put in place to reach the young people furthest from the labour market, particularly women, who benefited from this programme. It also requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on young people’s access to sustainable employment, including statistics disaggregated by age, sex and region, as well as on the assessment of measures and the consultations held with social partners on these measures, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention.

Older workers. The Government indicates that, thanks to support policies and incentives to work longer, the employment rate for workers aged 55 to 64 has increased significantly, from 25 per cent in 2002 to nearly 57.8 per cent in 2023 (60.8 per cent in Flanders, 52.2 per cent in the Walloon Region and 56.7 per cent in the Brussels Region). The Committee nevertheless notes that the Government itself emphasizes that it remains difficult for older people who are no longer employed to find their way back into the labour market. The Government adds that barely 9 per cent of new hires in 2022 were over 50 years old. The Committee takes note of the information concerning the specific measures taken for older workers at the regional level, including “Impulsion 55+” in the Walloon Region. This measure involves a reduction in social security contributions for hiring jobseekers aged 55 and over, or who have reached the age of 60 at the time of hiring, employed in a French-speaking establishment, and has been structured as follows since 1 July 2023: €400 for people aged 55 to 57; €1,000 for people aged 58 to 64; and €1,500 for people aged 65 and over (up to the legal retirement age). According to the CSC, CGSLB and FGTB, “Impulsion 55+” is the only measure specifically targeting older workers and has many windfall effects. According to these trade union organizations, employment assistance and public funds should be allocated more effectively to avoid such effects. In its reply to the observations of the trade union organizations, the Government indicates that, following an assessment, a significant change was made on 1 July 2023, with the aim of focusing on getting older jobseekers into or back into work, by reserving access to “Impulsion 55+” assistance for jobseekers. The “job retention” component, which is potentially more prone to windfall effects, is now reserved for workers who have reached the age of 60. The Committee takes note of this constructive dialogue on the assessment of the “Impulsion 55+” measure and the resulting reform in July 2023. The Committeerequests the Government to provide information on the specific impact of this reform, especially on its ability to reduce windfall effects and increase the hiring rate (the “back-to-work rate”) of older jobseekers. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on all the active labour market measures implemented to increase the recruitment and retention of older workers, including access to training, specifying the results obtained by age group and gender, and to indicate how the specific barrier to recruitment, identified by the Government itself, is being addressed in consultation with the social partners.