Belgium’s new policy for night work has come under sharp criticism from SETCa, a trade union representing white collar work in Belgium, which says legislation on that and e-commerce shouldn’t be relaxed.
Belgians spent €12.1 billion on e-commerce last year, up 18% since 2020. The trade sector federation Comeos has urged the government to loosen labour regulations to allow employees to work between 20:00 and midnight, without this being considered night work, as well as implementing a collective labour agreement that will be evaluated after two years.
“Many e-commerce companies do not base themselves in Belgium because our laws are more rigid. This drains capacity and economic profits,” Federal Minister of the Self-Employed, David Clarinval, said at the time.
But SETCa says “what Comeos really wants is to sideline the trade unions and organise cheap night work according to the PostNL model: insecure temporary jobs in which people who often have no other choice are exploited and treated as disposable products.”
Pilot projects on a volunteer basis without union approval
E-commerce companies are permitted under the new legislation to set up a one-off pilot project using volunteers who can work those night hours for a maximum duration of 18 months, without the need for trade unions to consent.
The employer must pay extra wages or a premium for this evening work.
“It has already been possible for years to introduce night work in the context of e-commerce,” says SETCa, adding that the companies that wanted to do this have already made agreements with the trade unions.
“Instead of entering into a real dialogue, Comeos chose to lobby the government, which already provided for a relaxation in the famous labour deal.”
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They say the 18-month experiments are “not at all positive” for both the sector and the employees: “It further individualises the employment relationship and gradually eliminates social dialogue at company level. It is clear that the demands of the employers in this regard have been met, those of the trade unions ignored.”
Comeos said unions have been asking for years to discuss the future of the e-commerce sector, emphasising that “the shops of today are not always the shops of tomorrow” because the sector is subject to ever-changing consumer habits.
“Starting the debate is one thing, making decisions in the place of those involved is another. It is up to the social interlocutors of the sector to set the lines for the future,” they said, emphasising that only collective solutions negotiated by the social partners can provide a solution to challenges facing the sector.
“Let us ensure that e-commerce is not a huge factory of exploited workers, but a means of qualitatively transforming a sector that provides hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
