Council worker claims 8,000 hours of unpaid overtime

A maintenance working employed by the town of Tubize, Walloon Brabant, claims the council owes him 8,000 hours of unpaid overtime accumulated over three decades. The town council had originally agreed to acknowledge and address the situation before last year’s local elections, but has since backtracked, La Dernière Heure reports. Christian G. was hired by the town in 1981 and rose through the ranks, working long hours – at the last count, in 2012, he had worked 8,034 hours in overtime. He demanded from the council that he either be allowed to take the equivalent time off as holiday, or that he be paid for those hours. In September 2011, the council, ignoring the opinion of the municipal secretary who thought that this could "cause serious human resources difficulties ", decided that it was "appropriate to acknowledge 8,017 hours" of overtime. Christian G. agreed not to claim payment for the overtime but, instead, to stay at home on paid leave for several months a year until his retirement in February 2018. But on December 7 last year, the newly elected council authorities decided to overturn the decision, prompting Christian G. to get himself a lawyer. The Council of State has found in favour of the plaintiff, ordering the town of Tubize to suspend its decision of December 2012 decision, which was "illegal". "The right to take unpaid overtime in lieu is of fundamental importance to a professional career and to self-fulfilment ," said the Council of State.