Belgium: Wages: Wage and Salary Increases for Metal Workers
Implementation deadline: September 30, 2017
Overview
This coming September mandatory wage increases go into effect for the “metaalnijverheid” or Metal Industry in Belgium. There is an opportunity however to convert these small, highly taxed increases into benefits Belgian employees really value.
Collective Labor Agreements
In Belgium, hourly wages for blue-collar workers and monthly salaries for white-collar workers need to be at least equal to the minimum that’s established in Belgium’s collective labor agreements (CAOs). CAO’s are industry specific and are created by joint committees of employees and employers.
The different CAOs set minimum wages and wage levels in many industries. These agreements are often extended to other benefits for workers such as holiday bonuses and healthcare.
Workers and employees get same increase
The adjustments from the Joint Committee are named PC (paritair commite) 209 and PC 111. PC 209 is intended for white-collar or salaried employees, and PC 111 is for blue-collar or hourly workers.
The new CAO’s mandate the same increases for both types of employees. By September 30, 2017 employees must get a 1.1% wage increase, where 2/3rds of that will be given to the government. Employers also need to give employees €250 worth of ecocheques. These are vouchers employees can use to buy eco-friendly goods and services in Belgium. Yet, €250 is not enough to buy sought after products like an eco bike or fridge.
Increases can be converted to highly valued benefits
The good news is any metal industry company can convert both benefits (wage increases and ecocheques) into an equivalent benefit such as employee benefits, which is much more interesting for employees and employers.
Employers could for example spend this money on unlimited hospitalization insurance combined with dental care. Or, they could use the €250 budget to offer employees an affordable plan to help pay for dental care, medical expenses, and prescription costs. This option gives employees access to inexpensive insurance so they can get access to better care.
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