We are a country of social dialogue. It is embedded at every level of our economy and our social security system. Yet Belgium leads Europe in the number of strike days. Is this the end of this model, or an opportunity for renewal?
Social dialogue is better known for its strikes than for its successes. Trade unions organised a national demonstration on 12 May. BPost has just emerged from a long period of strike action. The SNCB experienced a high number of strike days in 2025. The government has rejected the proposal from the social partners (Group of 10) regarding the Centenindex. Social dialogue has not been in the best of light in recent years. It seems more like a machine for generating conflicts, even strikes, and above all disagreements. Actions in the private sector receive less media coverage but are no less real. One fact remains: according to a study by the German institute WSI, Belgium is the EU champion in terms of strike days.
Why is Belgium the European champion in terms of strike days?
The causes of this phenomenon are numerous and stem as much from societal factors as from the world of work itself. Social media has pushed individualism to unprecedented levels; algorithms reinforce the idea that others think like us, which does little to encourage listening to, let alone understanding, other opinions. Political debate is becoming increasingly polarised. The list goes on.
Our model of social dialogue was overhauled in 1944 and successfully underpinned years of economic development. However, since the mid-1990s, it has been struggling. The reform of the wage regulation law in 2017 has thrown a spanner in the works.
The current dynamic is one of pure power politics: ‘if I am in a dominant position, I will force the other side to make concessions’. It is deeply ingrained in the very fabric of our conception of social dialogue, at every level.
Any crisis situation calls for a rigorous assessment…
Unless one is being cynical, it is difficult to take pleasure in these difficulties. For those who take it for granted that political democracy (the political citizen votes in elections) needs to be reinforced by social democracy (the working citizen is consulted), an assessment is essential.
Yet observers and stakeholders in social dialogue know that the absence of consultation or even involvement prior to decision-making often leads to complex implementation difficulties. The time not taken before a decision is easily paid for at double the cost, lost subsequently in resistance to change.
It is therefore becoming urgent to carry out an assessment of our social dialogue system, without taboos, away from the cameras, drawing inspiration from tried-and-tested methods, such as those used in the 1944 Social Pact, and to explore ways of revitalising this system.
…to deliver robust and sustainable reforms
Our social consultation system will not escape a comprehensive, no-holds-barred assessment and, likely, a thorough reform. It will be up to the government and the social partners to initiate this.
Overly ambitious projects, however, run the risk of ending up as a mountain giving birth to a mouse. The policy of small steps, whilst admittedly slow, has the merit of testing new directions through experimentation – innovative approaches that pave the way for ambitious projects by reassuring stakeholders, and if they fail, no one loses face.
This could begin with the promotion of reasoned (or integrative) negotiation as an alternative to traditional positional bargaining.
Integrative consultation techniques enhance the effectiveness of dialogue by allowing for a step back from dogmatic positions; they favour collaboration over confrontation and, through their methodology, enable the pace of dialogue to be adjusted to the time constraints of the stakeholders.
A recent symposium on innovation in social dialogue seems to confirm broad support among consultation stakeholders for this new approach. It will be the focus of a university course launching this autumn at UCLouvain.
By Bauduin Auquier - Partner at YEON, Visiting Professor at UCLouvain
Social Dialogue: sterile negotiations or fruitful outcomes? Beci and Yeon invite you to a worklunch to discuss this! Register now!