Belgium: successful mobilization against cross-industry agreement

Success.  On Friday, March 4th, many sectors in manufacturing, banking, transportation, chain stores and town services were stopped in Belgium.  The FGTB’s socialists and the CGLSB’s liberals, whose members mobilized when the latter didn’t even call for the strike, thought this was a rather successful mobilization.  The starting point was the disagreement over the cross-industry agreement.  In early February, when employers and the CSC, the country’s key union, gave their consent, the FGTB and CGSLB refused to sign the draft mediation negotiated by the government on the basis of unfinished talks between the social partners (see our dispatch No.  110082).  The two unions say that the bargaining margin for wages is too limited (0.3%) and also deplore that it should only be indicative, not imperative.  In Belgium, wage increases come through an automatic wage indexation system on the one hand and, on the other, based on a margin agreed between the social partners every 2 years at cross-industry level and following the forecasts of the Central Economic Council (CCE – see our dispatch No.  100792).  This year, wage costs in Belgium’s main rival countries led the CCE to define a total 5% margin, including 3.9% of indexation.  Of the remaining 1.1%, FGTB and CGSLB want more than a simple limit of 0.3% because they say businesses have renewed with growth.  However, the government, which met with unions on Friday morning, seem little inclined to making adjustments.  It already accepted, among other things, a minimum wage increase to calm unions down, but unions say it isn’t enough.