One of the priorities for the federal government is to make Belgian companies more competitive by reducing the “pay disadvantage” they apparently have compared with their neighbors. Inherently, the point is to reform the law of July 26, 1996 promoting employment and saving competitiveness, which currently supervises pay bargaining. Even though Employment Minister Monica De Coninck claims that the text has already been amended since and is still being debated within the government, the bill leaked to the press introducing a tough sanctions to avoid excess pay in a sector or a company foretells that wage negotiations will be subject to more obligations. (Ref. 130340)
Which bill is being discussed? At the end of 2012, the government adopted a series of austerity and competitiveness measures. It “removed” 0.9% of the gap with neighboring countries by freezing pay in 2013-2014 (see article No. 120679). But in November 2012, the government said it wanted to go further, toughening the law of July 26, 1996 promoting employment and saving competitiveness, which currently supervises pay bargaining. The government’s bill, which we were able to consult, introduc
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