Historical Organization
FGTB/ABVV
FGTB/ABVV
Details
Organization Timeline
FGTB/ABVV calls a 24-hour general strike over retirement and end-of-career reforms
📅 7 October 2005The socialist trade union federation FGTB/ABVV organised Belgium’s first general strike since the mid-1990s. Workers opposed proposed changes to retirement and end-of-career arrangements and raised...
National march demands clear and durable regularisation criteria
đź“… 17 June 2007The Forum Asylum and Migration called a national Brussels march asking the incoming government to replace discretionary decisions with clear criteria and a permanent commission. The action framed...
Trade-union and civil-society pressure helps secure a regularisation commitment for undocumented residents
đź“… 18 March 2008After sustained campaigning by undocumented migrants and supporters, trade unions and civil-society groups helped obtain a political commitment on regularisation criteria. The campaign combined...
Three union confederations launch a general strike against pension reform
đź“… 30 January 2012The 24-hour general strike protested pension reforms introduced with limited social dialogue by the Di Rupo government. Unions argued that reforms would hit younger, older and lower-income people...
More than 100,000 march in Brussels against the new government’s austerity programme
📅 6 November 2014A national demonstration opened a month of rolling union actions against the centre-right government’s planned pension-age increase, wage restraint and public-service cuts. Police estimated at least...
Belgian unions stage a general strike against austerity
📅 15 December 2014The country’s two largest union confederations jointly organised a 24-hour general strike after a month of escalating actions. Workers opposed pension-age increases, wage freezes and cuts to public...
A coalition of unions, farmers and civil society marches against TTIP and CETA
đź“… 20 September 2016Thousands marched in Brussels against the proposed EU-US TTIP deal and the EU-Canada CETA agreement. The coalition linked trade rules to labour protections, public services, health, farming and...
La Voix des Sans-Papiers opens a building occupation publicly and festively
đź“… 21 July 2017The collective shifted tactics by publicly opening a newly occupied building with music, talks, a shared meal and cultural programming. Solidarity groups joined. Organisers described occupations as...
We Are Belgium Too launches a campaign with Sans-Papiers TV
đź“… 11 March 2021The Coordination des Sans-Papiers and Sans-Papiers TV used an open letter, petition and media work to build support for clear, permanent regularisation criteria. Sans-Papiers TV described itself as...
Solidarity march links undocumented strikers with unions, students and health workers
📅 20 June 2021Several hundred supporters marched from the Beguinage church to the ULB and VUB sites, backing the hunger strikers’ regularisation demands. The coalition included migrant-led groups, unions, students,...
Unions hold a national day of action over purchasing power and energy costs
📅 9 November 2022Belgium’s three major union confederations mobilised for a nationwide strike and day of action amid a cost-of-living crisis. They demanded measures to reduce energy bills, protect purchasing power and...
Coordination des Sans-Papiers marches for the citizen bill In My Name
đź“… 5 March 2023Around 400 people marched from Brussels North for a citizen-backed regularisation bill. Organisers asked parliament to examine the proposal, supported by more than 35,000 petition signatures...
Thousands rally in Brussels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
đź“… 22 October 2023A coalition-backed demonstration at the Schuman roundabout called for a ceasefire, civilian protection and humanitarian access to Gaza, and for European action. Police estimated about 12,000...
A coalition reports more than 50,000 at the largest Palestine solidarity march of the year
đź“… 17 December 2023A broad coalition of civil-society organisations, NGOs and unions marched from Brussels North Station to Brussels South Station, calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and action...
Sixth major Belgian coalition march calls for a ceasefire and pressure on Israel
đź“… 19 May 2024Thousands marched in Brussels for a ceasefire and a just resolution for Palestinians. The coalition included Palestinian, trade-union, peace, development and progressive Jewish organisations....
National demonstration and strike challenge the Arizona coalition’s social reforms
đź“… 13 February 2025The three union confederations mobilised against proposed pension, unemployment, health-care and public-service changes. Demonstrators connected the defence of social security and purchasing power...
A general strike spreads through workplaces, schools, hospitals and cultural venues
📅 31 March 2025A nationwide general strike opposed the federal government’s plans and the direction of its labour and welfare reforms. Pickets, reduced public transport, shop closures and actions at hospitals and...
Palestine solidarity march marks the Nakba and demands an end to occupation
đź“… 11 May 2025Around 60 civil-society organisations called a national march for a ceasefire and justice in Palestine on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba. Police estimated 20,000 participants; organisers...
Non-profit and care workers demand investment, staffing and decent conditions
📅 22 May 2025Workers from Belgium’s non-profit sector marched in Brussels to press governments to negotiate investment in health, care and welfare. Unions reported 30,000 participants and police 27,000....
Union and civil-society march demands stable jobs and strong public services
đź“… 25 June 2025A broad union-front demonstration in Brussels called for secure, fairly paid work, social security and accessible public services, and rejected social regression. The FGTB explicitly invited...
National strike confronts austerity; unions broaden demands to social and political rights
📅 14 October 2025Belgium’s major unions called a national strike and demonstration against proposed pension, labour-market and public-spending reforms. The action paralysed much air travel and disrupted public...
Mirabal march links gender-based violence with poverty, racism and economic precarity
đź“… 23 November 2025The Mirabal platform, a coalition of around a hundred organisations, called a national Brussels march against gender-based violence. Organisers and union partners connected physical and sexual...
A national interprofessional strike closes a four-day wave of union action
đź“… 26 November 2025The general strike followed transport action on 24 November and public-service strikes on 25 November. The three-day escalation disrupted transport, airports, schools, hospitals, culture and private...
National demonstration and strike renew opposition to federal social reforms
đź“… 12 March 2026Unions called a new national demonstration and strike in Brussels as part of sustained resistance to federal reforms affecting pensions, employment and social protection. Event photographs show...
Platform 2103 coordinates anti-racist actions across Belgium
📅 21 March 2026On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Platform 2103 and allied groups called actions in Brussels, Ghent, Liège, Hasselt and Antwerp. Organisers challenged racialised...
National union-front demonstration defends wages, pensions and social security
đź“… 12 May 2026The FGTB, CSC and CGSLB called a national demonstration in Brussels amid energy-price increases and renewed pressure on automatic wage indexation. The unions argued that pension reforms risked further...
Unions and civil society rally in Namur against regional austerity
đź“… 16 June 2026The FGTB and CSC, joined by social, cultural and community organisations, demonstrated against Walloon and French-speaking Community policies that shifted budget cuts onto workers and people receiving...
National protest brings workers, students and refugee advocates together against budget cuts
📅 9 October 2026Union-led demonstrators from rail, education, culture, public services and other sectors marched in Brussels ahead of the government’s budget announcement. Students, refugee-rights advocates and...