Since 1893, there have been a number of general strikes in Belgium. Occasioned by the emergence of the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, general strikes have been an enduring part of Belgian political life. Originally intended to encourage the reform of the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

, more recent strikes have focused on issues of wages and opposition to government

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

. Since 1945,

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

s have been co-ordinated by the

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (french: Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB; nl, Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated ...

(ABVV-FGTB), a federation of Socialist

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s, while most before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

were organised by the parliamentary

Belgian Labour Party The Belgian Labour Party ( nl, Belgische Werkliedenpartij, BWP; french: Parti ouvrier belge, POB) was the first major socialist party in Belgium. Founded in 1885, the party was officially disbanded in 1940 and superseded by the Belgian Socialist P ...

(POB-BWP). According to Carl J. Strikwerda, the

Belgian general strike of 1893 The general strike of 1893 (french: grève générale de 1893, nl, algemene staking van 1893) was a major general strike in Belgium in April 1893 called by the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) to pressure the government of Auguste Beernaert to int ...

was the first general strike in the

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ...

Origins

In 1866, the Belgian government revoked the articles of the

Le Chapelier Law The ''Le Chapelier Law'' (french: Loi Le Chapelier) was a piece of legislation passed by the National Assembly during the first phase of the French Revolution (14 June 1791), banning guilds as the early version of trade unions, as well as ' (by orga ...

which had outlawed

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. The first strikes followed soon after. A mining strike occurred in 1868 and textile workers went on strike during the economic depression of the 1870s. In 1885, the

, the country's first socialist parliamentary party, was formed. Despite the rapid growth of the labour movement, during the nineteenth century Belgian workers were known internationally for their low pay and poor working conditions. The first major strike in Belgian history was the

Belgian strike of 1886 The Belgian strikes of 1886, occasionally known as the social revolt of 1886 (french: Révolte sociale de 1886), was a violent period of industrial strikes and riots in Belgium from 18 to 29 March 1886 and an important moment in Belgium's 19th-c ...

which, though unorganised, led to the first legislation regarding working conditions.

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Notes

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External links

De grootste stakingen uit de Belgische geschiedenis
at ''

De Standaard ''De Standaard'' (meaning ''The Standard'' in English) is a Flemish daily newspaper published in Belgium by Mediahuis (formerly Corelio and VUM). It was traditionally a Christian-Democratic paper, associated with the Christian-Democratic and F ...

''
General Strikes and Social Change in Belgium
(1980) by Carl Strikwerda {{DEFAULTSORT:Belgian General Strikes Social history of Belgium Socialism in Belgium Labour in Belgium *

Origins

List

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links