Published: 21/02/2019

The IUF-affiliated Food and Services Union (ACV-CSC) successfully negotiated a local agreement with Danone Dairy Belgium on the basis of the IUF-Danone Agreement on Sustainable Employment and Access to Rights. The local agreement provides Danone Rotselaar dairy plant workers with a concrete list of functions which can and cannot be done by agency workers, particularly for safety reasons.

The agreement stipulates that permanent functions at the factory can only be filled by workers who have unlimited term contracts with Danone. Recruitments can only be done via agencies, if necessary, and agency workers can have a 6 month maximum contract. Following the 6 months of work, agency workers shall receive a Danone contract, and following a year of work, agency workers are entitled to have an unlimited term Danone employment contract, with seniority being taken fully into account.

The local agreement between ACV-CSC and Danone requires that agency workers receive adequate training for the job and that they can never be left alone on a production line. In the case that job vacancies arise, workers under a Danone contract should have priority to apply for the relevant position.

Successful local negotiations secured the pledge that agency workers or workers with a limited term contract have the same rights as Danone workers with permanent contracts, including the right to have the same wage levels, working hours, and conditions.

The ACV-CSC achieved further improvements through the local agreement, which included an employee assistance program that provides all workers with free psychological help, a free health check-up for workers over 45 every three years, several ergonomic improvements, and a parental policy that increases the income of women workers on parental leave.

Please find here the local agreement in Dutch and French. The ACV-CSC has thanked the IUF for signing with Danone this important Sustainable Employment and Access to Rights Agreement, which mandates and facilitates local negotiations aimed at limiting casual employment.