The Belgian National Labor Council (NAR) announced that employees may not make decisions about work holidays on their own. Muslim workers and organizations arguing on their behalf have asked for employers to enact “floating holidays,” in which employees would be able to choose whether religious holidays, such as Muslim Eid celebrations, would be a vacation day – but would use the “floating holiday” in exchange for working on another holiday – generally more officially recognized holidays. The NAR dismissed the proposal, saying that such a move would cause too many organizational problems and require too much restructuring. Joelle Milquet, the Belgian Minister of Employment, agrees with NAR’s standpoint.
