On Friday, the Federal Institute for Human Rights (FIRM) launched a new report on Belgian labour law, which contains 57 recommendations for better social protection.
The report was co-signed by the Support Centre for Combating Poverty, Livelihood Insecurity and Social Exclusion, Myria and the Central Supervisory Council for Prisons (CTRG).
"Belgium has strong labour legislation, but we note that certain categories of workers are not equally well protected," Martien Schotsmans, director of the FIRM Precarious employment, said in a press release, adding that the Belgian labour law is based on "the ideal worker" who works full-time on an open-ended contract and can count on strong protection.
However, Belgium did create more and more precarious statutes that deviate from existing law. For example, those who deliver meals via a sharing platform often do not build up social security rights (health insurance, pension, unemployment benefit), or people working flexi-jobs, where they have no guarantee of a fixed number of hours of work, and therefore no guarantee of a fixed salary.
Sharing economy
"The sharing economy and flexi-jobs, but also other statutes such as interim contracts, can be a stepping stone to the regular labour market," said Schotsmans. "However, they can also replace regular jobs, forcing people to work under worse conditions and increasing the risk of the working poor."
Therefore, they recommend ensuring that platform work, even when carried out under the partial economy system, counts towards the accrual of social security rights.
Labour rights on paper are not enough, they must also be respected in practice – something that must also be better monitored, stated FIRM, the Poverty Reduction Support Centre, Myria and the CTRG. But the Belgian labour inspectorate is understaffed: it lacks one-third of the required number of inspectors, according to International Labour Organisation standards.
"That makes it enormously difficult to check their working conditions. Inspections often follow complaints from victims, but do not happen enough on the inspectorate's own initiative," Schotsmans said. "This is especially a problem for workers in vulnerable situations, who are often afraid to claim their rights themselves for fear of losing their jobs."
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To that end, they recommend strengthening labour inspection services, especially Supervision of Social Laws, and achieving the standard of one inspector per 10,000 workers set by the International Labour Organisation.
Through this report, the four organisations paint a picture of Belgian labour protection for the European Committee of Social Rights, which monitors compliance with the European Social Charter. This human rights convention was ratified by Belgium in 1990 and guarantees, among other things, the right to work, housing and health.
The European Social Rights Committee will further investigate the Belgian situation and issue recommendations in the spring.
If the Committee finds that Belgium does not adequately protect certain rights, the FIRM will follow up to see if the necessary measures are taken to improve the situation.
