What is a union section?

Verified 25 October 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

A trade union may, under certain conditions, set up a trade union section in a company.

Which union can create a union section? What is the role of the trade union section? Does it take a minimum number of members to create a union section? What resources does the trade union section have?

We are taking stock of the regulations.

The trade union section shall ensure representation of material and moral interests of its members.

It includes employees members of the same trade union organization.

A trade union section may be established by the following trade unions:

  • Union representative in the company or at the level of establishment
  • Trade union affiliated to a representative trade union organization at national and interprofessional level
  • A non-representative union that meets all of the following conditions:
    • It meets the criteria of respect for republican values and independence (respect for freedom of political opinion, for example)
    • It has been legally constituted for at least 2 years
    • Its professional and geographical scope covers the company
    • It meets the criterion of financial transparency (e.g. compliance with accounting obligations)

A union can set up a union section in the company if it counts at least 2 members.

No formalities are foreseen for the creation of a trade union section.

To avoid disputes, it is recommended to inform the employer in writing (letter RARRAR : Recommended with notification of receipt, letter delivered in person against discharge for example).

Collection of union dues

The section did not no own financial resources.

Union dues may be collected within the company.

Hour credit to negotiate with the employer

Each union section has a hour credit for his shop steward and employees of the company called upon to negotiate the company agreement or agreement.

This appropriation is intended to be used to prepare for the negotiation of this agreement or agreement.

It may not exceed:

  • 12 hours per year in companies with at least 500 employees,
  • 18 hours per year in companies with at least 1,000 employees.

This time credit is global, i.e. it is allocated to the union section regardless of the number of agreements concluded in the same year.

Display on reserved panels

The display of trade union communications is carried out freely on signs reserved for this purpose.

These panels are separate from those assigned to communications from the ESCESC : Social and Economic Committee.

Each panel must be assigned to a single union.

Distribution of leaflets

Tracts and publications of a trade union nature may be freely distributed to company employees within the premises of the latter, at the time of entry and exit from work.

Premises made available to the trade union section

The employer's obligations differ depending on the company's workforce.

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Company or establishment of less than 200 employees

The employer is under no obligation to provide the union section with premises.

Company or establishment of 200 or more employees

The employer must provide the trade union sections with a common room for the performance of their delegates' duties.

The layout and use of the premises made available to them shall be determined by agreement with the employer.

Company or establishment of 1 000 or more employees

The employer shall place at the disposal of each section of the trade union premises equipped with the necessary equipment for its operation.

The layout and use of the premises made available to them shall be determined by agreement with the employer.

Each trade union section can meet its members once a month on the company premises.

Meetings are held outside the working premises (for example, in the trade union premises). They also take place outside the working time of the participants.

An agreement with the employer shall determine the conditions for holding such meetings.

The trade union section is represented by the shop steward where the trade union is representative in the company.

It is represented by the representative of the trade union section where the trade union is not representative in the company.

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