JC 200: a draft sector agreement has been concluded!

On 13 June 2019, the social partners of the Auxiliary Joint Committee for non-manual workers (JC 200) concluded a sector agreement. As stipulated in the Royal Decree of 24 April 2019 implementing Article 7 § 1 of the Law of 26 July 1996 on the promotion of employment and on the preventative safeguarding of competitiveness, this agreement complies with the maximum negotiating envelope of 1.1% in 2019 and 2020.

Below, you will find a brief overview of the main subjects of the sector agreement. A detailed analysis will be included in our sector documentation.

Provisions with an impact on wages

Increase in wages (1.1 %)

From 1 September 2019, increase of 1.1 %:

• of the sectoral minimum wages;
• of the actual gross monthly wages (only for employers who only employ non-manual workers - see special scheme below).

Companies may choose to grant an equivalent benefit instead of this wage increase.

Remarks:

• One-off premiums granted in the period 2019-2020 can also be attributed to the gross wage increase of 1.1%, provided that a recurrent benefit is granted as from 1 January 2021.
• The conversion procedure differs depending on whether it is a company with or without a trade union delegation.
• O course annual wage scale increases based on professional experience and/or seniority remain guaranteed.

Special scheme

The above provisions do not apply to:

• the non-manual workers employed by employers who employ both non-manual and manual workers on 1 September 2019 in the same business activity;
• employers of whom the manual workers adhere to a sectoral supplementary pension for manual workers;
• and employers who have no or a less favourable supplementary pension scheme for non-manual workers.

This concerns, for example, employers who employ manual workers in the JC 124 for the construction company, but who also employ non-manual collar workers.

For the period from 1 September 2019 to 31 December 2019, the wage increase of 1.1% is granted in the form of a temporary annual premium to be paid into the supplementary pension for non-manual workers. As from 1 January 2021, the budget for the annual premium will be used in the sub-sectoral supplementary pension for non-manual workers. To this end, the sectoral social partners of the JC 200 conclude a CLA.

Home-to-work travel

From 1 July 2020, a regular user of the bicycle will receive a bicycle allowance of 10 cents/km actually travelled (max. 4 EUR/working day).

Training

The number of training days to be offered varies according to the number of workers in the company:

• Companies with more than 20 workers: on average 5 days per 2 years per FTE (2020-2021) and on average 6 days per 2 years per FTE (2022-2023);
• Companies with less than 10 workers: on average 4 days per 2 years per FTE.
• Companies with between 10 and 20 workers: on average 4 days per 2 years per FTE (2020-2021) and on average 4.5 days per 2 years per FTE (2022-2023) and on average 5 days per 2 years per FTE (2024-2025).

The composition of the training plan is different for companies with or without a trade union delegation.

Companies with a registered training plan or a training commitment (only for companies without a trade union delegation) are entitled to a drawing right at the expense of Cevora for the development of their training initiatives.

Unemployment scheme with corporate allowance (RCC/SWT)

For the period from 1 January 2019 to 30 June 2021, the sector shall provide for:

• RCC/SWT from the age of 59 with 33 years of career of which 20 years of night work or heavy work;
• RCC/SWT from the age of 59 with a long career (40 years);
• RCC/SWT from the age of 59 with 35 years of heavy work;

Each time provided that the worker has 10 years of seniority in the sector.

End-of-career jobs and time credit

Time credit schemes shall be extended for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2021, with subsequent adjustments:

• 1/5 end-of-career job with benefits as from the age of 55
• and 1/2 end-of-career job with benefits as from the age of 57

for long careers of 35 years, heavy work and 20 years of night work with 2 years of seniority in the company (until 31 December 2020).

The premium from the social fund is maintained for workers who start a 1/5 end-of-career job from the age of 60 or for workers who start a 1/5 end-of career job from the age of 55.

More information

This sector agreement will only become final after publication on the website of the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue. We will keep you informed.

Source: Draft sector agreement 2019-2020 of 13 June 2019 – Supplementary Joint Committee for Manual Workers JC 200