30/03/2007
On 29 March 2007, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its ruling in case C-320/06 Commission vs Belgium. Belgium has been condemned for failing to implement European Directive 2002/14/EC of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community.

The Belgian trade union CSC stated that by failing to transpose the directive in Belgian law within time limits, the authorities have kept 1.5 million Belgian workers employed in SMEs away from consultation at the worplace. In April 2006, the CSC lodged a complaint against the Belgian government, followed by legal proceedings by the Commission two months later.

The  Directive 2002/14/EC requires companies with either 20 or 50 employees at least to set up machinery for dialogue with their workers and keep them informed about their company’s economic situation. Belgium failed to bring its labour law into line within the three year deadline. In Belgium, workers in companies with fewer than 100 employees still have no legal right to company or economic information, or to be consulted.

The ECJ's ruling will force eventually the Belgian government to carry the directive over into law. If it still fails to do so, the Court could impose Belgium a daily default fine of 69.000 euros, according to the CSC.

• The ECJ ruling (in French)
• The CSC press release (in French)
• The FGTB press release (in French)