Belgium: social partners agree on recommendations for exiting lockdown conditions

On 22 April, the social partners that met as part of the Group of Ten (one of Belgium’s social consultation forums) agreed on the framework that will govern the relaunch of business in non-essential sectors, which is set for yet to be announced a date but that should be known before 26 April. This framework is the one drawn up by the tripartite High Council for Prevention and Protection at Work, in conjunction with the Economic Risk Management Group (a Government Covid-19 management task force that includes the social partners), and the Minister for Employment, Nathalie Muylle. This guide sets out best practice for ensuring safe workplaces and contains concrete preventive measures as regards safety, health, and hygiene instructions. It is intended to serve as a basis upon which the sector joint committees (where branch agreements are negotiated) can draw when formulating their own specifically tailored sector protocols.