The Flemish government has announced that it will cease appointing permanent civil servants after 2024. Instead, new hires in the Flemish public administration will only be offered contracts, while higher-ups will still have the potential to become permanent employees. According to the Flemish newspaper, The Newspaper, roughly 70% of the approximately 29,000 Flemish civil servants are currently considered permanent or statutory employees, with the remainder on fixed-term or indefinite-contractual arrangements that offer less advantageous salary and benefits packages. Harmonising statutes across the board has been a goal of the Belgian federal government since 2020, but there are no plans to remove the chance for civil servants to become permanent employees. Conversely, proposals in the Brussels and Walloon regions have been put forth emphasising the importance of status regimes for both agents and contractors. The Flemish government has also set a target to reduce its number of civil servants by 10% before 2024.
The Flemish government has decided that it will no longer appoint permanent civil servants from 2024. From next year, new employees in the Flemish public administration can only be hired on a contractual basis. Only those in a position of authority will still have a chance of being appointed on a permanent basis.
Of the approximately 29,000 Flemish civil servants, 70%, or around 20,000, are permanent or statutory employees, reports the Flemish newspaper The newspapaer. These employees enjoy a better status than the 30% of contractual colleagues who are on fixed-term or permanent contracts. Currently, statutory employees benefit from more advantageous salary conditions than contractual employees. It is much more difficult to dismiss them, their remuneration can increase more quickly and, in the event of illness, they receive 100% salary for a longer period.
The end of lifetime appointments is presented by the Flemish government as a way of harmonizing the statutes. At the federal level, we find this desire to converge the different existing statutes. “The major differences between social security systems need to be addressed. The statutes of employees, self-employed and civil servants must converge in respect of acquired rights”, can we read in the government agreement signed in October 2020. On the other hand, there is no question, for the time being, of removing the possibility for civil servants to be appointed on a permanent basis.
Conversely, in the southern regions of the country, there is a push for status. The Brussels government agreement provides for the recruitment of new statutory employees. “Talent. brussels has been reinforced in this context”we are told by the Minister of Public Service Sven Gatz (Open VLD).
Flanders wants to reduce the number of its civil servants by 10% by 2024
Ditto for Wallonia, whose regional policy declaration (DPR) explicitly says that we must “give preference to the status regime for agents”. The Walloon government has also implemented article 119 quater which allows contractual staff engaged for an indefinite period who have passed the Selor test to be status. In 2019, of the approximately 10,000 civil servants in the SPW, 60% were statutory and 40% contractual. In 2023, this ratio was 69.9% and 31.1%.
The decision of the Flemish government, pushed by the Open VLD, does not, however, leave the French-speaking liberals unmoved. At the MR, which campaigns for administrative simplification, we believe that we must “a convergence of social statuses”. On this subject, the Walloon Minister for the Civil Service, Valérie De Bue (MR), has already indicated that a reflection should be initiated on the status. The liberal wishes “guarantee a modern, efficient public service that respects the well-being of the worker”while integrating the idea that “the world changes”. She does not wish to oppose the contractual and the statutory, but, in the long term, she would like “go to the middle way”says his spokesperson.
In conclusion, the Flemish government’s decision to stop appointing permanent civil servants from 2024 is aimed at harmonizing the statutes and reducing the number of employees by 10%. While this decision has been met with support from some quarters, others are calling for a convergence of social statuses in the public service to ensure a modern, efficient workforce that respects the well-being of its workers. The debate surrounding the status of civil servants is likely to continue as governments across Belgium seek to balance workforce efficiency with employee welfare.