Ukraine, Belgium
Two years of war: EPSU in solidarity with Ukrainian workers
After two years of Russian aggression, EPSU reiterates its support to the Ukrainian people. At the international solidarity meeting with Ukrainian and international trade unions held on 22 February 2024, EPSU General Secretary Jan Willem Goudriaan recalled: “We express our full solidarity with Ukrainian workers, the unions and the people.
PSI World Congress in solidarity with Ukrainian workers and people
The hundreds of delegates to the PSI World Congress stood up in solidarity with the Ukrainian delegation, applauding the bravery of the working class standing up to Russian imperialism following the aggression on 24 February 2022.
Unions step up campaign on rights to strike and protest
The three main trade union confederations – ACV/CSC, ABVV/FGTB and ACLVB/CGSLB – are taking further steps to defend trade union rights and particularly the rights to strike and protest. They will be joining other civil society and campaigning organisations on 5 October in a national demonstration against the Van Quickenborne law which will make it increasingly difficult to organise protests. The unions have already challenged attacks on trade union rights and particularly legal action taken against trade union strikers and protestors in the recent long-running Delhaize dispute in the retail
Call for an end to Russian war crimes against journalists in Ukraine
The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), EPSU and over 20 other organisations are calling for action against the Russian Federation for the war crimes committed against journalists. The perpetrators should be held accountable.
ETUC celebrates 50 years at Berlin Congress
A large EPSU delegation joined hundreds of other trade unionists from across Europe to celebrate 50 years of struggle for Europe’s workers and people. We ended the ETUC Congress with the election of a new team and the adoption of an action plan titled ‘Together for a Fair Deal for Workers in Europe’.
Workers take to the streets to defend the right to strike and to support Delhaize strikers
A massive demonstration with over 25,000 people was organised by the three Belgian trade union confederations (ACV-CSC, FGTB-ABVV and CGSLB-ACVLV) to protest attacks on the rights to strike, demonstrate and picket.
Confederations build for joint national protest in defence of union rights
The three trade union confederations – ACV/CSC, ABVV/FGTB and ACLVB/CGLSB are organising a national demonstration on 22 May in protest against increasing anti-union actions by employers and the authorities. The coordinated action is prompted by the conflict in the Delhaize supermarket chain where unions have been striking and campaigning against the company’s plans to franchise all its stores, posing a major threat to jobs and working conditions. Unions have been met with a hardline response from both the employer and aggressive tactics from the police. The confederations are concerned that
Childcare workers take to streets over pay, jobs and funding
A trade union alliance involving the CNE, CSC Services Publics, CGSP, SETCA, CGSLB and SLPF coordinated a demonstration in Brussels on 26 April to raise concerns about the state of childcare provision. The protest involved a delegation meeting with the minister for children and health in the Brussels-Wallonia Federation with demands to tackle the long-standing problems of understaffing and precarious work and to prevent the extension of private, for-profit provision across the sector. The union were supported by non-profit providers in the sector.
Public service unions coordinate week of action
The three main federations in the public services – ACV/CSC, CGSP/ACOD and SLPF/VSOA – have called for a week of action from 6 to 10 March to highlight the staffing and funding crisis facing all parts of the sector. The federations will be coordinating a series of actions with calls to strengthen public services with more public investment and funding and end the push for privatisation. They also want to see improvements to pay and conditions to make public services more attractive to work in and especially to stop the attacks on public service pensions. Finally, the federations want to see
Social care workers take to streets over jobs and services
Over 25000 workers in the non-profit sector joined a march through Brussels on 31 January to highlight the urgent need for action on jobs and investment in health and social care services. The unions in the sector are warning of the pressures created by understaffing across hospitals, social care, childcare and other vital services and calling on the federal and regional governments to provide the additional funding necessary to improve pay and conditions, take on more staff and invest in these vital services.
