The members of Belgium’s largest rail unions have rejected the draft agreement on a modernized statute for rail personnel that the unions had initially agreed with Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke (Les Engagés).
According to the rail unions, there will probably be no new round of negotiations, and the Minister is now free to do as he pleases.
In concrete terms, this means he will be able to change the contractual recruitment, whereby rail workers will in the future be recruited on employment contracts, as in the private sector, rather than under the more protective status of statutory personnel, comparable to that of civil servants.
A large majority voted against
In May, union members had already rejected an earlier agreement. A major sticking point at the time was the role of HR Rail as the legal employer. The draft agreement stated that NMBS and Infrabel would become the legal employers. Staff feared that this would lead to different statutes.
In the new draft, HR Rail remained the legal employer of railway staff. It also provided for the retention of statutory recruitment for several railway professions.
Despite the changes in the new agreement, a large majority of the largest trade unions voted against it. For example, 79% of ACOD Spoor members voted against it, 74% of ACV Transcom members, and 93% of VSOA-Spoor.
Breakdown of the social fabric
The issue of flexibility, whereby railway employees would no longer be recruited under the statutory personnel regime but under an employment contract from 2028 onward, proved particularly difficult. The former offers greater job security, as it is difficult to dismiss employees, and specific pension rights.
In the draft agreement, both NMBS/SNCB and the rail infrastructure manager, Infrabel, committed to maintaining 60% of recruitment under the statutory regime, but in exchange, they demanded greater flexibility from staff.
This meant, among other things, that management could activate an exit scheme for statutory staff in the event of economic force majeure.
Other government measures not directly related to the draft agreement, such as pensions (which are being discussed separately with Minister of Pensions Jan Jambon (N-VA)) and the budget debate, also played a role in the decision, according to the unions.
Contractual recruitments from 2028 onward
“We cannot accept that fundamental certainties disappear without any guarantee for the future,” responds Werner Baetsleer, chairman of VSOA-Spoor. “What is on the table here undermines the existing statute and jeopardizes the job security of thousands of railway workers.”
Koen De Mey, chairman of ACV Transcom, points to the consequences of the rejection: contractual recruitment will be introduced from 2028. “There will probably be no third round. The Minister is now free to do as he pleases. We hope that he will honor at least part of the agreement.”
