Labour mediation in Belgium Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue Passion – opportunity to share experience – 2 parts : the process of M/C and the skills/ressources -

Mediation and conciliation of collective disputes Origin : bodies and procedures organised by social partners have been given a legislative framework in which the Ministry plays a subsidiary role Before a collective disputes gets to mediation or conciliation : Trade union delegation and employer at enterprise level. Trade union delegation has the right to be heard when a collective dispute or strike is impending or existing Mediation or conciliation can only be launched after failure of all attempts to resolve at enterprise level 2 tools for the Chair of the Joint Committee : The joint sectoral conciliation board The Chair of the joint sectoral committee can also act as mediator (without conciliation board) Characteristics Extrajudicial system Voluntary mechanism Social partners take part in the dispute resolution process Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

The conciliation process How to request for conciliation ? Composition of the conciliation board Timelines Process of a conciliation meeting : 3 phases Possible outcomes and consequences of the conciliation process Importance of a written document of the agreement Characteristics : confidential and informal process use of caucus voluntary process recommendation based on consensus respect for the authority of the recommendation extra-judicial system which builds upon the responsibility of the social partners to get to a resolution Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Mediation process Mediator : Mediator defines the process Can be designated by the Minister The chair of the JC takes an initiative The chair of the JC is requested by its members or a company to intervene as a mediator Mediator defines the process Voluntary process Written and signed document at the end Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Mediation skills Active listening skills : use of reformulation and reframing “Peel the onion” : Identify the interests behind the positions and build on the common interests Build trust among the parties Create a safe and neutral environment Agree with the parties to express themselves in a gentle, open, honest and specific way Manage emotions by recognising them or organising a break Explain and trust the process Brainstorm for solutions when parties are ready Search for a win-win solution with the parties “What if ?” Mediator is committed to facilitate the process, parties own the outcome Mediation skills need to be trained ! Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Drafting and follow-up of conclusions Written document of the Conciliation Board or the Mediator Description of the agreed and/or recommended solution Includes timeline, the actions to be taken, identifies the responsibilities Process of consultation via referendum (in case of an announced strike) Evaluation or reporting of the execution of the conclusions Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Quality and accessibility of the services Neutrality guaranteed Code of ethics of civil service applies to Mediators Recruitment process guaranties technical competencies and skills. Continued training and education of the mediators, Secretarial support to 170 joint committees Mediator services, translation (French – Dutch) and meeting rooms are free of charge Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Statistics of meetings Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue Type of meeting : orange : plenary sessions of bi-partite committees light blue : conciliation board meetings

The department for Collective Labour Relations Specialised corps : 14 Mediators in private sector + 2 Mediators in the public sector (since May 2013) Unit of the management of sectoral joint committees : Social partners request the Minister to start the procedure to determine the scope of competence Secretariat of the sectoral joint committees : preparation and sending of invites, agenda-items and documents, preparation of the minutes Registration and extension of CLAs Analysis and evaluation of CLAs : no obvious breach of the law (hierarchy of norms) Total staff including the Director-general: 110 Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Separate mechanism for settlement of individual disputes on rights Specialised labour courts Composed of one professional judge and two lay-judges ; one designated by an Employers organisation and a Workers organisation Since 2005 ; the plaintiff or the defendant can use a mediation process at the small claims court, the family court and the labour court. Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Lessons learned of the Belgian system Role of social partners : Mechanism of collective bargaining and dispute resolution set up by social partners and reinforced by a legal framework and services rendered by the Ministry Recognise a balance of power between the parties Respect for the ILO- conventions Stable industrial relations contribute to social welfare and economic stability Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue

Questions and discussion Tiblisi 24/11/2016 Lieve Verboven, Federal Public Service Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue