The Worker's Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) has asked the government to allow civil servants in the Walloon Parliament to unionise, it announced on Thursday.
As talks begin on the status of civil servants in parliament, PTB wants the Walloon government to legislate for inclusion of nearly 200 workers in Annex 1 of the 1974 law on relations between union organisations and civil servants.
As it stands, employees of Federal Parliament and Senate are not permitted to unionise and there are no provisions for regional bodies.
"The Walloon Parliament is a place of political democracy without democracy for those who work there," stated regional parliamentary group leader Germain Mugemangango. "This exception to the right to be protected has lasted too long. Unions can offer workers access to the common rights shared by all employees."
Mugemangango stressed the importance of the governing majority's support. "It all comes down to the political will of the majority PS-MR-Écolo. Employees in the European Parliament have union representation, so why not the workers of the Walloon Parliament?"
Poor track record
The Walloon Parliament has a poor track record for working conditions, with former Parliament Clerk Frédéric Janssens – now fallen from grace – accused of overseeing a "climate of terror" among staff.
13 separate reports of harassment at the hands of the clerk in 2022 triggered an avalanche of complaints in the Walloon hemicycle, uncovering a severe case of abuse of power and misuse of public funds. Over half of 107 staff members at the time signed a letter calling out a toxic working environment that had existed for "decades".
Under Janssen, staff reported excessive pressure, aggression and physical violence along with repeated threats, insults and humiliation. A leaked recording exposed him telling an assistant they would "end up in the morgue by noon". Janssens has since apologised for his behaviour but insists he never bullied anyone.
"Harassment cases and the numerous burn-outs linked to them should be a wake-up call to the harmful consequences of the absence of trade union organisations in the civil service," Mugemangango told L'Avenir.
