Inflexible night work rules have made Belgium an export country for jobs in e-commerce. The issue would have cost our southern neighbours 30,000 jobs by now. So says the Alexander de Croo, Belgian Minister of Digital Agenda.
Until the end of 2015, the Belgian e-commerce sector was subject to a ban on work after 8pm. As a result, delivery of parcels took on average two days longer than in the Netherlands. After it turned out that online retailers and consumers diverted en masse to neighbouring countries, Belgium lifted the ban on night work. Still, companies are reluctant to introduce night work. High personnel costs would make it unattractive for companies to employ people at night. Moreover, each company had to negotiate individually with unions. That hurdle has now been removed by the government.
De Croo is now calling for further relaxation of the rules. Indeed, a publication by Flemish employers' organisation Voka shows that Belgium is still ahead of seven European countries in the digitalisation of government, education and the labour market. Lower labour costs and less strict rules would allow Belgium to compete with its neighbours.
Editorial LogistiekProfs
