Marc Leemans will step down as president of the CSC/ACV on 1 January, the Christian union, which he has led for 12 years, announced on Tuesday. His successor is expected to be appointed by the summer holidays.
The CSC/ACV’s president is expected to leave on 1 January. The CSV/ACV is the largest of the three trade federations, making Leemans a very important voice in social dialogue.
Leemans, who will turn 62 next month, informed the national CSC office on Tuesday of his intention to step down as president. The term of office of the president is unlimited.
A succession procedure is to be launched. In this context, consultations will take place in order to find a candidate with sufficiently broad support to get the green light from the general council. The general council is composed of about 500 delegates and activists. There will be no election campaign.
The aim is to be able to designate the next president at a CSC general council meeting by the summer holidays. There will be no communication about this during the succession procedure, the Christian union says.
In recent years, Leemans had mainly fought against the wage standard law, reformed under the Michel government, which he repeatedly said contained “rigging software”. This legislation prevents wages in Belgium from diverging too much from those in neighbouring countries, but the CSC and other trade unions believe that the law has been changed in favour of employers.
