Belgium - Tensions in chemical and pharmaceutical industry - November 30, 2025

Social tensions are escalating in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors. A deadlocked bargaining round reveals a lack of respect for workers and their trade unions in these industries. At seven pharmaceutical companies, workers’ representatives are refusing to approve overtime until a new sectoral agreement is reached. Because of the employers’ federation’s failure to respond constructively to union demands during the bargaining round, employee determination is growing. The sectoral unions have developed a large-scale action plan. To break the impasse, the affected unions are organising three days of action. On 14 and 21 November, they staged strikes at certain companies joined by activists from across the country.

Read on: in English…

For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.