6 FEBRUARY 2007. - An Act to amend the Act of 4 August 1996 on the welfare of workers during the performance of their work with respect to judicial proceedings (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER I^er. - General provision
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER II. - Amendment of the Act of 4 August 1996 on the welfare of workers during the execution of their work
Art. 2. Section 32decies of the Act of 4 August 1996 on the welfare of workers during the execution of their work, inserted by the law of 11 June 2002, is replaced by the following provision:
"Art. 32decies. § 1^er. Any person who justifies an interest may bring proceedings before the competent court to enforce the provisions of this chapter and, in particular, to seek damages.
If the Labour Court finds that the employer has put in place a procedure for the processing of a substantiated complaint under this Act and its enforcement orders, and that this procedure may be legally applied, the court may, when the worker has directed himself directly, order the worker to apply the above procedure. In this case, the case is suspended until this procedure is completed.
§ 2. At the request of the person who declares to be the subject of moral or sexual violence or harassment at work or of the organizations and institutions referred to in article 32duodecies, the Chairperson of the Labour Court finds the existence of these facts and orders them to cease them within the time limit that he fixes, even if these facts are criminally punishable.
Action referred to in paragraph 1^er is put to the cause and educated according to the forms of the referee. It is filed by contradictory request.
It is decided on the action notwithstanding any prosecution due to the same facts before any criminal court.
When the facts submitted to the criminal judge are the subject of an action on termination, it can only be decided on criminal action after a decision in force of a finding has been made with respect to the action on termination. The statute of limitations of public action is suspended during the occurrence.
Within five days after the order has been issued, the Clerk shall send by simple letter an unsigned copy of the order to each party and to the Labour Auditor.
The President of the Labour Court may order the lifting of the termination as soon as it is proven that it has been terminated the acts of violence or moral or sexual harassment at work.
The Chairperson of the Labour Court may prescribe the posting of his or her decision or the summary that he or she prepares during the period that he or she determines, if any, both outside and within the employer's establishments and order that his or her judgment or summary be issued by newspapers or in any other manner. Everything is done at the expense of the author. These advertising measures may only be prescribed if they are likely to contribute to the termination of the offence or its effects.
§ 3. Interim measures to enforce the provisions of this chapter and its enforcement orders may be imposed on the employer.
Interim measures referred to in paragraph 1^er include:
1° to the application of preventive measures;
2° to measures that allow it to be effectively put an end to acts of violence or moral or sexual harassment at work.
The action on interim measures is filed by contradictory motion and is submitted to the President of the Labour Court to be decided on the basis of the forms and deadlines of the referred proceedings.
Art. 3. In section 79 of the Act, amended by the Acts of 28 February 1999 and 17 June 2002, the following amendments are made:
1° § 1^er is completed by the following paragraph:
"Representative organisations of workers can be represented in the labour courts by a delegate, who has a written power of attorney. The latter may perform on behalf of the organization to which it belongs the diligences that this representation entails, file an application, plead and receive any communications concerning the introduction, instruction and judgment of the dispute. »;
2° the opening sentence of § 2 is replaced by the following text:
“When the shares referred to in § 1^er concerns disputes relating to the application of Chapter VIII, the following procedural rules apply: "
3° 6° of § 2 is repealed.
Promulgate this Act, order that it be put on the State Seal and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 6 February 2007.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Employment,
P. VANVELTHOVEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Note
(1) Documents of the House of Representatives:
51-2687 - 2005/2006:
No. 1: Bill.
51-2687 - 2006/2007:
Number two: Report.
No. 3: Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate.
Full report: 30 November 2006.
Documents of the Senate:
3-1959 - 2006/2007:
N°1: Project transmitted by the House of Representatives.
Number two: Report.
Number 3: Text corrected by commission.
No. 4: Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent.
Annales du Sénat : January 25, 2007.