On Thursday 16 April, after a month of negotiations, the social partners in Belgium’s construction industry agreed to resume work on sites while respecting as far as possible the rules of social distancing, to prevent the spread of coronavirus. According to the construction confederation, workers will have the right to “respond positively or negatively” to their employer's request when work has to be carried out in a building “in which one or more cases of coronavirus have been detected” or if the worker can demonstrate “by medical certificate that they belong to one of the groups at risk”, such as if they are diabetic. An additional protocol will be discussed for the measures to be taken after the lifting of lockdown, scheduled for 3 May.
For urgent business and works (as defined by the ministerial order of 23 March 2020), employers must make the necessary means of protection available and ensure that the rules of social distancing are applied on building sites. Social partners agree however that where, in the case of urgent interventions (i.e. work that cannot be postponed for safety, health or hygiene reasons, and is aimed at preventing damage and ensuring the functioning of vital services during the coronavirus crisis), socia
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