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The law on paid educational leave of 1985 is the result of a long historical process and a historical compromise between the social partners and the political authorities. The right to training is not self-evident: it is located at the junction of divergent economic, social and cultural interests. The recent decision of the Belgian government, afflicted by an acute deficit in the financing system, to restrict the right to educational leave by economizing on short, and specifically vocational, training courses, to the detriment of longer-term training, is characteristic of a short-sighted policy which is in strong contrast to the lavish proclamations on the importance of training, not only from an economic standpoint but also from a social and cultural point of view.

This article gives a resume of the history of this law and its application and explains the origin of the present budget deficit and the inconsistency of this decision. In conclusion, it presents some more positive perspectives. Show less