Socialist trade union federation ABVV/FGTB will continue its campaign against the federal government’s policies, Chairman Thierry Bodson announced during his Labour Day speech in Namur on Thursday.
Bodson accused the Arizona government of dismantling a social model built over 80 years. “Red vests need to be visible on the streets every week,” he said.
“The battle will be tough, it will be long, and we will need to fight on various fronts. I am honoured to lead a union where everyone takes responsibility,” he added. “Rail workers have been fighting for months, and they are right. Teachers have been marching through the streets for months, and they are right.
“There are planned actions by ACOD [the public service union], the non-profit sector, and a national action on 27 June. The most crucial thing is that we maintain a constant social struggle.”
Bodson pledged that the socialist federation would resist as long as necessary, with an action calendar extending beyond September. “We will be defenders of human rights, feminists standing against attacks on women. We will be poppies blooming on barren ground, like Arizona’s, and return stronger after the struggle.”
[The parties that make up the federal government are known as the Árizona coalition since their colours coincide with those of the US state of Arizona.]
