Proposition 50K2212

Projet de loi modifiant les articles 38bis, 51bis et 59 de la loi du 3 juillet 1978 relative aux contrats de travail.

General information ¶

Submitted by

Groen Open Vld Vooruit PS | SP Ecolo MR Verhofstadt Ⅰ

Submission date

Jan. 7, 2003

Official page

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Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

work work contract civil service

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

Groen CD&V Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld N-VA MR FN VB

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Discussion ¶

Feb. 13, 2003 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

The Deputy Prime Minister was replaced by Minister Louis Michel.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, dear colleagues, the project that is submitted to you this afternoon contains six articles effectively modifying the employment contract. I apologize if I have not taken notes, I have checked some particular points of the written report. Let’s say that most of our project aims at equality between contract workers in the private sector and those in the public sector.

In his introduction, the Minister clearly emphasized this aspect of things. Indeed, some anomalies, ⁇ due to the law of 14 December 2000, have been highlighted. The reduction and arrangement of working time has resulted in inequalities between the different workers. The second part of the project dealt with article 59 of the law of 3 July 1978, which rearranged the notice for workers. In the discussion that followed the presentation by the Minister, the latter did not want to intervene in the social dialogue between the different social interlocutors. This was the best method chosen, in particular to appeal to committee A, the committee gathering all public services and the committee for the negotiation of police services.

Several speakers discussed somewhat more technical issues. A member of the opposition raised the State Council’s comment, which believes that the method used does not legally guarantee all legality.

The other interventions were rather technical. Nevertheless, the chairman of our commission stressed, along with your servant, that the number of contractors increased more and more in the whole of the public service, that this was an extremely important element and that, by this law, we are trying to ⁇ the goal of equality between the different contractors.

Subsequently, the Minister of Employment and Labour acknowledged that the form used was not, from a legal point of view, the most “safe”. Indeed, if the Collective Labour Convention of '75 was amended, inequality could nevertheless persist. Of course, all agreed to say that a method must be found to continue to reflect on the long-term equality of all workers.

With the exception of Article 4 to which amendments and technical corrections were made, the whole project was adopted unanimously.

I will now speak personally. It is a good initiative on the part of the government to want workers to be treated on an equal footing. However, allow me, Mr. Minister, to draw the attention of this assembly on one aspect to which your servant has been sensitive for many years, namely the whole of the public office.

Unfortunately, the services of Ms. Deputy Prime Minister were unable to provide me with the figures, but I did some small research and I would like to draw your attention to the percentages that I find extremely important.

We talked about contracts during the debate on this bill and it seems to me that some figures have all their weight.

The first figure is the contracts in all public services. The general rule is that we employ statutory staff. And so, my dear friends, my dear colleagues, this is the percentage of contractors in certain public services. The record of contractors is held by the Brussels-Capital Region, which employs 73% of contractors. The second public authorities that arrive at the top of the peloton are all of our CPAS with 64% of contractual and, finally, we find 53% of contractual in the municipalities. In the federal government, we have an average of 21%.

My colleagues, I think it is important to emphasize this element in the debate. I invite you both, ⁇ in the next legislature, to reflect on the problem of the whole public function. You must know that a contractualization of public service ultimately leads us to no longer have a public service worthy of that name but people under contract, who will undergo the pressure of different powers, of different elements. As a result, the public service is at risk of losing its relevance and its character of service to the public.

This is what I wanted to say in addition to my report.

Dear colleagues, Mr. Deputy Prime Minister, I want to thank you for your attention.