Salary

In Belgium, minimum salaries are set by Joint Committees (Paritaire Comités) via Collective Labour Agreements (Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomsten or CAO’s).

A Joint Committee is a consultative committee between the employers’ union and the union of employees’ representatives, with as its aim to negotiate Collective Labour Agreements (Collectieve Arbeidsovereenkomsten or CAO’s) about work conditions, minimum salaries, bonuses, etc. of employees within a certain sector.

There is a Joint Committee No. 324 for the diamond industry and Trade (Paritair Comité 324 voor de Diamantnijverheid en –handel) which applies for blue collar employees in general and their employers with the activities set out below:

·            Cutting and polishing of diamonds

•           This applies to the following employees: manual workers, students and technical intellectual workers

·            Cutting and polishing of coloured gemstones

•           This applies to the following employees: manual workers, students and technical intellectual workers

·            Trading in diamonds

•           This applies to the following employees: manual workers and students

The white collar employees in the diamond business are covered by the Joint Committee No. 218, with respect to the international trade.

An employer in the Diamond Industry and Trade is obliged to be compliant with the rules of the Joint Committee No. 324 and No. 218.  This means, amongst other things, that the minimum salaries agreed therein must be taken into account, as well as the pay scale salaries included in these rules.

Collective Labour Agreements which have been made within Joint Committee No 324 and No. 218 can be viewed on the following government website http://www.werk.belgie.be/searchCAO.aspx?id=4708, under the topic ‘social negotiations’ (sociaal overleg)