SEW/OGBL recently won an important victory before the Constitutional Court. A member of our union sued the state after it refused to pay her maternity leave on the grounds that such leave can only be paid after a “congé sans traitement” if it is the second or third child of the civil servant or state employee. Laws such as these show that there is still much to be done in terms of equal rights in the civil service, and that the state does not always live up to its role model function in terms of equal rights.

After three years of litigation, the Constitutional Court finally ruled in favor of the SEW/OGBL. The regulation in question was declared unjustified and unconstitutional and will be abolished. In the future, the first maternity leave after a “congé sans traitement” will also be paid within a period of two years.

This decision is a major victory for gender equality and the protection of the rights of female civil servants.

Communicated by the Education and Science Syndicate of the OGBL (SEW/OGBL),
on March 22, 2024