International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

“This constant search for increased productivity will promote the spread of the virus”.

Thomas Weyts — 2020-05-17T05:06:17Z

Johan (pseudonym) works in a factory which makes instruments for the medical sector, but which belongs to the engineering sector. Since the company is rightly considered to be an essential one, he has worked for the past two months. Johan is also an active union activist in the FGTB within his company. Thomas Weyts talked to him last week about how he and his family lived in lockdown, what it meant to be, unlike many other people, physically present every day at his workplace in recent weeks, his vision of politics, what he thinks of the lifting of lockdown and the prospects of the trade union movement in this crisis.

- IV544 - May 2020 / Belgium, Trade unions/workplace organizing, Covid-19 Pandemic

Trump not welcome, and neither is NATO

Thomas Weyts — 2017-05-25T18:26:29Z

Twelve thousand people took part in the demonstration in Brussels yesterday (24 May) against Trump and the world that he stands for and against NATO.

- IV508 - May 2017 / United States (USA), Belgium

After the demonstration against Michel-De Wever: now we must continue

Thomas Weyts — 2016-06-03T03:30:45Z

Once again, the incredible strength and tenacity of the Belgian workers' movement has been demonstrated, as has the extent to which tens of thousands of active militants remain, through hell and high water, attached in all circumstances to their unions as central pillars of social resistance. Once again, we have seen how they refuse to bow before the steamroller of austerity of the right and continue against all odds to take actions of social resistance.

- IV497 - June 2016 / Belgium

The Belgian unions in deadlock

Thomas Weyts — 2016-02-15T14:37:42Z

The two-day strike on the SNCB and above all the previous capitulation of the union leaders in Flanders, sadly once more exposed the dead end that the leaderships of the ACV and the ABVV have led the trade union movement to. The decision of the leadership of ACV-Transcom and ACOD-Rail in Flanders to announce to the media that there would be no strike in Flanders under any circumstances a few days before the announced start of the strike (according to many even at least initially a purely personal decision of Secretaries Luc Piens (ACV Transcom) and Ludo Sempels (ACOD-Rail)) was not just a stab in the back of the Brussels and Wallonian colleagues, but also brought the deep divisions about the attitude within the trade union movement to the right-wing government to light again.

- IV493 - February 2016 / Belgium, Trade unions/workplace organizing

François Vercammen, member of the Belgian section of the Fourth International

Alain Krivine, Alain Tondeur, Pierre Rousset, Sally Rousset, Thomas Weyts — 2015-06-18T13:09:56Z

We have heard of the death of our Belgian comrade François Vercammen on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 after a long illness. Aged 69, François was a pillar of the LCR (Belgian section of the Fourth International) but also one of the main leaders of the Fourth International. For years, thanks to his knowledge of several languages, he had regularly monitored the activities of its different sections and in particular of the French LCR.

- IV485 - June 2015 / Obituary

120,000 demonstrators against Michel 1!

Thomas Weyts — 2014-11-11T09:20:37Z

The national demonstration in Brussels, the beginning of the plan of action of the common trade union against the Michel 1 plans (and the cuts at the regional level) was a huge success. With 120,000 participants, all expectations were broadly met. Contrary to what was feared at one time, the mobilization was a great success in Flanders also: there were thus 20,000 participants from the province of Antwerp, close to 9,000 from Eastern Flanders and so on. The fear created by some that the CSC and the liberal CGSLB union would only mobilize verbally also proved unfounded.

- IV478 - November 2014 / Belgium, Trade unions/workplace organizing