The joint demonstration organised by the three trade union confederations to act against new government proposals (freeze of the wage indexation and increase of the pension age – see our October Newsletter) has brought more than 100.000 workers to the streets of Brussels. The new liberal-conservative government had so far not talked seriously with the trade unions. This is in sharp contrast to the country’s long post-war tradition of concertation and dialogue. After the demonstration the prime-minister announced that the ministry of labour has the task to open up the dialogue with the trade unions ‘in all discretion’.
English: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/06/belgium-austerity-protests-violence
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.