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 ...

References

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

See also

References

Further reading

External links