Belgian General Strike Of 1960–1961
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The general strike of 1960–1961 (), known popularly in
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
as the Strike of the Century (''Grève du Siècle''), was a major series of strikes in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
which began on 14 December 1960 and lasted approximately six weeks. The general strike was instigated by the militant trade union, the
General Labour Federation of Belgium The General Labour Federation of Belgium (, , FGTB; , , ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation and has a membership of 1.5 million ...
(''Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique'', or FGTB; ''Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond'', ABVV), against an attempt by the government of
Gaston Eyskens Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democracy, Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (Belg ...
to improve the state of Belgium's public finances after the independence of the
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...
by introducing a series of
austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
measures known as the
Unitary Law The Law on Economic Growth, Social Progress and Fiscal Redressment (, ), better known as the Unitary Law (''Loi unique'' or ''Eenheidswet''), was a controversial law in Belgium which was passed on 14 February 1961. It introduced a programme of Aus ...
(''Loi Unique'' or ''Eenheidswet''). It has been described as "one of the most serious class confrontations in Belgium's social history", which brought out 700,000 workers out on strike. A number of clashes took place between strikers and the police,
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
, and
Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...
. In one incident, the
Liège-Guillemins railway station Liège-Guillemins railway station (; ) is the main station in Liège, Belgium. It is one of the most important hubs in the country and is one of the four Belgian stations on the high-speed rail network. The station is used by 15,000 people ...
was ransacked by strikers on 6 January 1961. Although the strike began across Belgium, it soon lost momentum in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
where workers returned to work after a few days. The strike continued in Wallonia, a region largely reliant on
heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
and already starting to experience
deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...
, for several weeks. The law was eventually passed on 14 February 1961. Four strikers died. The strike is considered a key moment for the
Walloon Movement The Walloon Movement () is an umbrella term for all Belgium political movements that either assert the existence of a Walloon identity and of Wallonia and/or defend French culture and language within Belgium, either within the framework of the 1 ...
and an influence on the formation of Walloon identity. It led to the foundation of a new ideology of Renardism which linked Walloon nationalism with
syndicalism Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through Strike action, strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goa ...
. The strike also led to the creation of the pro-federalist Walloon Popular Movement (''Mouvement Populaire Wallon'', MPW) in 1961 and an increasing polarization between Flemish and Walloons which culminated, from the late 1960s, in the "
Linguistic Wars The linguistics wars were extended disputes among American theoretical linguists that occurred mostly during the 1960s and 1970s, stemming from a disagreement between Noam Chomsky and several of his associates and students. The debates started i ...
" and, ultimately, in Belgium's gradual transformation into a federal state. The 1983 film '' Winter 1960'' is based on the strike. The strike was the subject of the documentary film ''Lorsque le bateau de Léon M. descendit la Meuse pour la première fois'' (1979) by the
Dardenne brothers Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together. Their work tend ...
.


See also

* Belgian general strikes * '' Misère au Borinage'' (1933) *
André Renard André Renard (; 25 May 191120 July 1962) was a Belgian trade union leader who, in the aftermath of World War II, became an influential figure within the Walloon Movement. Born into a working-class family, Renard was as a metalworker in the L ...
*
Split of the Catholic University of Leuven The Catholic University of Leuven (1835–1968), Catholic University of Leuven was one of Belgium's major universities. It split along linguistic lines after a period of civil unrest in 1967–68 commonly known as the Leuven Affair (''Affaire de ...
*
Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...
(1960-65)


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links


Belgian general strike diary of Maurice Brinton
at Libcom.org
The Belgian General Strike by Tony Cliff
at
Marxist Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive, also known as MIA or Marxists.org, is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Eng ...

Grèves de 60: ce passé qui nous divise encore
at ''
Le Vif ''Le Vif/L'Express'' is a weekly news magazine published in Brussels, Belgium. It has been in circulation since 1983. History and profile The magazine was established under the name of ''Le Vif'' in 1983. Its name was changed to ''Le Vif/L'Expre ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:1960-1961 General Strike General strikes in Belgium Socialism in Belgium History of Wallonia Walloon movement 1960 in Belgium 1961 in Belgium 1960 labor disputes and strikes 1961 labor disputes and strikes Congo Crisis