Belgium’s multi-party coalition government has approved a draft reform package that will give workers a choice at the heart of the European Union to:
Work only four days a week.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Krue commented: Labor law reform:
We’ve had two difficult years. With this agreement, we are moving towards a more innovative and sustainable digital economy. The goal is to make people and companies stronger.
Hospitality and courier workers have much stronger legal protections, while full-time workers can apply for flexible work, including working four days a week. Under the reforms, the four-day work week is for six months, after which they can return to the five-day work week without negative consequences. If they want, they can extend the four-day form for another half year.
The focus is on workers, as the law now protects their right to recreation. This means that
Outside of work, the manager may not contact the employee who has the right to ignore work-related messages, but may even turn off the company’s phone.
The line between work and private life is becoming increasingly blurred. Belgian Labor Minister Pierre-Yves Dermann noted that persistent demands on the part of an employer can harm an employee’s physical and mental health.
Practically speaking, the new law will apply to all employers with more than twenty employees in the future. Employers must negotiate with unions to include the right of withdrawal in collective agreements.
Civil servants in the Belgian federal government were given the right to relax as early as January.
It is important to note that for the reform package to take effect, the Belgian central government would have to adopt the draft in more readings, so it could take months for Belgian workers to get up to three days off each week.
(euronews)
(Cover Photo: Christopher J. Morris/Corbis/Corbis/Getty Images)
