Dear Visitor,

Welcome to the web site of the National Labour Council, which aims to give you a general idea of its membership, its competences and its functioning.

The National Labour Council and the Central Economic Council are both better known as the Belgian House of the Social Partners.

It is situated nearby the European Institutions in the heart of Brussels.

The National Labour Council was created by the Act of 29th May 1952, which gave it the status of a public institution.

However, various bodies played as far back as 1886, a more or less significant role in social relations between employers and workers at the national level as well as in the industrial sector, the region and the undertaking. In chronological order may be mentioned : the Labour Committee (1886), the Industry and Labour Councils (1887), the Supreme Council of Labour (1892) and the Supreme Council of Labour and Social Insurance (1935).

At the end of World War II, the representatives of the social and economic world begun to play a more and more important role. This ended up in the setting up of the Central Economic Council in 1948 and of the National Labour Council in 1952. 

The National Labour Council is composed of titular and of substitute members as well as associated members.

Its Chairman is Mr PAUL WINDEY.

Membership  

The National Labour Council is composed of 24 titular members and 24 substitute members. The titular members are appointed by the Crown, all the members are appointed for a renewable 4-year term of office.

The titular members' seats are equally divided between the most representative inter-occupational employers' and workers' organizations.

These are on workers' side :

The Belgian General Federation of Labour (the Socialist F.G.T.B.-A.B.V.V.) 

The Belgian Confederation of Christian Unions (the Christian C.S.C.-A.C.V.)

The Belgian Federation of Liberal Unions (the Liberal C.G.S.L.B.-A.C.L.V.B.)

On employers' side :

The Federation of Belgian Industries (F.E.B.-V.B.O.)

The "Middle Classes" organizations (U.C.M.- UNIZO)

The Agricultural organizations (FWA - Boerenbond)

CSPO/CENM

By virtue of the Royal Decree of 7th April 1995, two associated members take part in the activities of the Council.

Associated members are not given an equal status as titular or subsititute members, their vote is non-decisive.

Competences  

Article 1 of the National Labour Council Act of 29 May 1952 defines the role of this body as follows 

- to advise a Minister or the Houses of Parliament on its own initiative or at the request of these autorities, on general social issues concerning employers and workers;

- to issue opinion on jurisdictional disputes between joint committees.

The Act of 5th December 1968 respecting collective industrial agreements and joint committees considerably enlarged the Council's role by empowering it to conclude collective industrial agreements, which are binding on various branches of activity or all sectors of the economy. Moreover, a collective industrial agreement may be concluded in the National Labour Council for a branch of activity which is not within the competence of an established joint committee or where an established joint committee does not function.

Beside the general duties it has been assigned by these two acts, the Council carries out more specialized advisory tasks under social laws prescribing its preliminary consultation on all or part of the enforcement measures.

Such laws are e.g. those related to the following matters : work contracts, organization of the economy, collective industrial agreements and joint committees, protection of the remuneration, labour Act (working hours, Sunday rest, young people's work, women's work and protection of maternity), work rules, paid holidays, labour courts or tribunals, wage earners' social security and pensions, etc.

Functioning  

On an institutional basis, the National Labour Council is organized on three levels : the Plenary Council, the Executive Board and the Committees.

The Secretariat prepares draft opinions or collective industrial agreements to be brought before the Council for approval and draws up the minutes of the Council, Board and committee meetings as well as background papers on the issues examined by these bodies.

Plenary Council

The Council sits at least once per quarter; it meets when convened by the chairperson. In practice, a meeting is held the first Thuesday of each month.

When the consultation of the Council is mandatory, it has to issue opinion within two months.

In practice no vote is taken on the Council's opinions or suggestions concerning general social problems. If unanimity is not obtained, however, the names of the groups, organizations or members subscribing to the text of the opinion or suggestion are recorded.

When the Council meets to conclude collective industrial agreements under the Act of 5th December 1968, the proceedings are valid only if at least half of the members representing the employers' organizations and half of the members representing the trade unions are present.

Executive Board

The Council sets up an executive board composed of ten members : the chairperson, four vice-chairpersons, four other members designated by the Council on parity basis and the Secretary- General.

It must in particular :

- lay down the agenda of the Council's sessions ;
- examine the issues to be brought before the Council and propose procedures for examining them;
- execute the Council's decisions, especially the transmission of suggestions, resolutions and       opinions  to the authorities concerned;
- submit annual budget proposals to the Council.

The Executive Board is composed of top leaders of the large employers' and workers' organizations, who have as such regular contacts with political circles and the main institutions of the country.

The Board sits every second Wednesday of each month.

At present, the four vice-chairpersons are :

Committees

The real work takes place in the Committees. The Council charges specialized committees with preparatory studies. They submit reports on their activities to the Council, generally in the form of draft opinions or collective industrial agreements.

Any titular of substitute member of the Council may take part in the activities of a committee. Committee members may be assisted by experts, a right to which they frequently resort.

Committees are established by the Council according to issues to be examined. The number of committees created within the National Labour Council comes to ninety, some of them having a nearly standing character :

- Committee Works Councils (C. 10)
- Committee Individual Labour Relations (C. 38)
- Committee Collective Labour Relations (C. 44)
- Committee Social Security (C. 51)
- Committee International Labour Organization (C. 76)

Furthermore, a number of joint committees have been set up in cooperation with the Central Economic Council for matters relating both to social and economic realities.

The Secretariat

The 1952 Act assigns a double task to the Secretariat :

- to ensure clerk registry and stewardship services;
- to provide with the documentation relating to the Council's activities.

Within the framework of these duties, the Secretariat prepares draft opinions or collective industrial agreements to be brought before the Council for approval and draws up the minutes of the Council, Board and committee meetings as well as background papers on the issues examined by these bodies. It translates all documents into the two national languages : Dutch and French. 

The Secretary and the Deputy Secretary are appointed by the Crown. The other Secretariat members ( + 40) are appointed by the Council.