The General Union of Public Services ( nl, Algemene Centrale der Openbare Diensten, ACOD; french: Centrale Générale des Services Publics, CGSP) is a

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 ( ...

representing

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

workers in

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 ...

. The union's origins lie in four unions active 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 ...

: the National Union of Rail, Post, Telegraph, Telephone, Marine and Aviation Workers, the Central Union of Public Service Workers, the Socialist Union of Education Workers and the National Union of Civilian National Defense Staff. These unions ceased to operate during the war, but various branches survived and in 1942 they formed the General Association of Public Services (ASOD). In 1945, 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) was established. At a conference on 28 and 29 April, it merged ASOD with several recently created unions of government workers, to form ACOD. The union soon became one of the most important in the ABVV, with membership growing from 70,000 in 1945, to 250,000 in 1997. In 1968, the small Belgian Union of Tramway and Municipal Transport Workers merged in. All public service employees are eligible to join the union, and by 1995, 40% of its members worked in administration, 20% in health, with the remainder divided between the railways, communication, utilities, and other minor sectors. It has generally been associated with the left-wing of the union movement.

Presidents

:1945: Joseph Bracops :1946: Henri Janssen :1957:

Georges Debunne Georges Debunne (2 May 1918 – 21 September 2008) was a Belgian trade union leader. Born in Menen, Debunne qualified as a teacher, and worked in Halle, joining the trade union. After World War II, he was elected as full-time secretary of t ...

:1968: Edmond Hamont :1982: Roger Piton :1993: Jacques Lorez :2000: Henri Dujardin :2003: Guy Biamont :2006: Karel Stessens :2014: Michel Meyer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Public sector trade unions Trade unions in Belgium Trade unions established in 1945 1945 establishments in Belgium