Maria Vindevoghel (born 11 October 1957) is a Belgian shop steward in the

Confederation of Christian Trade Unions The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions ( nl, Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, or ACV; french: Confédération des syndicats chrétiens, CSC) is the largest of Belgium's three trade union federations. History The federation was founded in ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

of the

Workers' Party of Belgium The Workers' Party of Belgium (french: Parti du Travail de Belgique, PTB; nl, Partij van de Arbeid van België, PVDA; ) is a Marxist and socialist political party in Belgium. It is one of the few Belgian parties that is a fully national party, r ...

Biography

Maria Vindevoghel grew up in a farming family in

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. At 20, she moved to Brussels at

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (French, ) or (Dutch, ), often simply called Molenbeek, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, from which it is separated b ...

. Vindevoghel became an aircraft cleaner at

Sabena The ''Societé anonyme belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation aérienne'' (French; ), better known by the acronym Sabena or SABENA, was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its ba ...

. After the bankruptcy of this airline in 2001, she gained some notoriety as a spokeswoman for Sabena employees. Proceedings were brought before the

Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...

by the ex-Sabenians because the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

Verhofstadt I would not have respected the social plan. The

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...

argued that the Federal Government had indeed made a mistake, but also put the 31 former employees of the bankrupt airline in the wrong. She then became a cleaner at

baggage handler In the airline industry, a baggage handler is a person who loads and unloads baggage (suitcases or luggage), and other cargo (airfreight, mail, counter-to-counter packages) for transport via aircraft. With most airlines, the formal job title i ...

''FlightCare''. In the summer of 2005, she was fired there, according to the management of ''FlightCare'' because of repeated violations of safety regulations. However, she managed to successfully challenge her dismissal at the

labor court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...

, with the judge stating that there was discrimination. From 2007 to 2017, Vindevoghel worked at the trade union ACV, where she focused on women's work and the aviation sector. She took early retirement in 2017. She also engaged with civil movement Heart over Hard. In the federal elections, she appeared in the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde with her own electoral list 'Movement for Action, Resistance and an Independent Alternative' (MARIA), which however did not reach the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

. The list received 4,298 preferred votes (0.51%) for the Chamber of Representatives in the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency and 2142 (0.67%) in the Leuven constituency. In

Schaerbeek (French and archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and S ...

in 2003, MARIA initially received 4096 additional votes because of a voting computer error caused by cosmic radiation. In the federal elections of May 2019, she was again a candidate as

Lijsttrekker In politics, a lead candidate (; , ) is the leader of a political party in an election to a legislative body. In parliamentary systems, it is often the party's nominee for the position of head of government. In open list electoral systems, it is ...

of the PVDA-PTB list in the constituency of Brussels-Capital. She became elected to the House of Representatives. She claimed a commitment to

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and

Anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

Federal deputy

In the federal parliamentary elections 2019, she was elected as a

member of parliament in the Chambre des représentants. She deals with issues related to mobility, public enterprises and federal institutions within the PTB group.

Parliamentary activities

On 20 June 2019, when taking the oath in the Chamber of Representatives, she mixed

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and French ("''Ik zweer de observer de grondwet'') so as not to choose one of the language groups. However, she was forced to take the oath again and did so in Dutch, joining the Dutch language group. On 19 March 2020, Vindevoghel, together with the

New Flemish Alliance The New Flemish Alliance ( nl, Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie, N-VA) is a Flemish nationalist and conservative political party in Belgium. The party was founded in 2001 by the right-leaning fraction of the centrist-nationalist People's Union (VU). ...

and

Vlaams Belang , ideology = , predecessor = Vlaams Blok , position = , europarl = Identity and Democracy , european = Identity and Democracy Party , youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren , colours = ...

groups in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

voted against the

confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

to the

Wilmès II Government The Wilmès II Government was a minority Federal Government of Belgium, led by Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès, the first female Prime Minister of Belgium. Wilmès had been selected as a caretaker Prime Minister following the 2019 Belgian federal ...

Bibliography

* ''Ik beschuldig... in naam van de Sabeniens'';Maria Vindevoghel - Ik beschuldig... in naam van de Sabeniens
literatuurplein.nl EPO; 2003; ISBN 9064452938
Fiche Maria Vindevoghel
PVDA * Pardoen Tom
"PVDA-verkozenen Nadia Moscufo en Maria Vindevoghel van de werkvloer naar het Parlement: 'Er heerst echt woede op straat, van wie weinig heeft tegen wie veel heeft'"
''

HUMO ''HUMO'' is a popular Dutch-language Belgian weekly radio and television supermarket tabloid. History and profile ''Humoradio'' (meaning a portmanteau of 'humor' and 'radio' in English) was first published in 1936 as a Dutch-language counterpa ...

''; 3 June 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vindevoghel, Maria 1957 births Members of the Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Living people 21st-century Belgian politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians Flemish politicians Workers' Party of Belgium politicians