The UPTR had been trying for years to be represented on Joint Committee 226, which represents workers in international trade, transport and related sectors. After several failed legal procedures, the federation has now been ruled in favor by the Council of State, which could invalidate the decisions taken in CP226 since 2021.
Within the Joint Commission 226, employers are exclusively represented by the Employers’ Federation for International Trade, Transport and Logistics. A third of the members of the board of directors of this federation are held by professional federations active in transport on behalf of third parties: Febetra, TLV, the Belgian Courier Association and the Belgian Chamber of Movers. The UPTR is not a member of the Employers’ Federation and has always contested the exclusive representation of the sector within CP226, because the interests of entrepreneurs in the Transport & Logistics sector were systematically neglected. “A first attempt, together with the SAV, was made in the 1990s, but without success. The UPTR then tried its luck on its own, but that also yielded no results,” explains Michael Reul, Secretary General of the UPTR.
“The majority of the 45,000 employees of the CP 226 are employed in a transport or logistics company. However, so far none of the three recognized employers’ federations has signing authority on CP 226. Neither the UPTR, nor the TLV, nor the Febetra has any decision-making power at the negotiating table for the employees of CP 226. For the UPTR it has always been completely unacceptable that representatives of Shippers, forwarders, shipping agents and customs agents decide on the wage conditions of the staff of transport and logistics companies,” explains Michael Reul.
At the end of 2021, UPTR applied for CP 226 and claimed 20% of the mandates, which corresponds to its representativeness (calculated based on the number of employers that are members of UPTR). This candidacy was rejected by the administration and by the then Minister of Labor (Pierre-Yves Dermagne). The UPTR then appealed to the Council of State, which initially ruled against it. The UPTR did not give in and refined its legal arguments, and on October 16 the Council of State issued a judgment in which the UPTR was fully vindicated. The UPTR will therefore submit a new request for representation in CP226 to the Minister of Labour, David Clarinval.
Retroactive effect
However, the judgment of the Council of State has a much wider scope, as it applies retroactively. “Not only have social negotiations been de facto suspended, but also the collective labor agreements signed by the Employers’ Federation since 2021 are now questionable!”, said Michael Reul, pointing to several files in which carriers have had to accept expensive measures (37 hours per week, seniority leave, sectoral day off, regional day off, additional contribution to the Subsistence Security Fund, meal vouchers, eco vouchers, etc.). According to our information, any company that feels aggrieved by these decisions can appeal.
“Our two sister organizations bear a historic responsibility: they ignored the UPTR’s call to submit a joint candidacy in CP 226. Together, the three representative federations of the Transport & Logistics sector could have claimed 7 of the 13 employer seats in the joint committee. The employers have the right to know why Febetra and TLV have satisfied themselves with an extra role as members of the Employers’ Federation, without any decision-making power,” concludes Michael Reul. The atmosphere within the Transport & Logistics Belgium confederation threatens to become quite tense in the coming weeks…
