Jef Maes heeft overschot van gelijk. "Heel het sociale discours van De Gucht klinkt origineel en (..) eenvoudig. Maar de facto is het niets anders dan (..) de liberale recepten van de negentiende eeuw, waarbij de overheid niets mocht doen op sociaal vlak." www.demorgen.be/meningen/ter...

BREAKING: Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals after weekend negotiations over contract disputes fail.

Contrary to death-of-class perspectives, class identities are as relevant socially today as they were 50-70 years ago.

Very happy to see this out in CPS! We study class identities and their social and political relevance over several decades in Britain, Denmark, Norway, and the US. A small thread: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/SIRW4...

Congratulations to the editors. Chapter 35 in Section Six is on the ‘Unionisation of Digital Labour’

A Dutch worker went viral after explaining to their American boss that they have a life outside work.

Don't let his current wealth or the promised trillion fool you. Elon's year was marked by disastrous failures. #TeslaTakedown www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

In 2025, this administration launched the biggest attack on unions in our history. We fought back and we’re not stopping now.

🔍 A new ETUI policy brief, co-authored by Ioannis Katsaroumpas, ETUI senior researcher, compares protections from detriments short of dismissal across 9 European countries, and shows how the UK risks remaining at the restrictive end, even after the Employment Rights Act. Read it here🔗 etui.org/4ZS

Open brief van BTB Voorzitter Frank Moreels - Flexi-jobs zijn geen hefboom, maar een systeem dat vaste jobs doelbewust ondergraaft. www.demorgen.be/meningen/fl...

'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe' 🔍 This chapter by Christian Lyhne Ibsen, University of Copenhagen, analyses and discusses two innovative organising cases in 3F (the General Workers’ Union), the largest trade union in Denmark. 📕 etui.org/Z9S

This is a great piece on Trump's near-destruction of the National Labor Relations Board. (And I'm betting they don't let the Acting GC go on-the-record about anything after his performance here. Kudos to @msainato.bsky.social for a very effective interview.) www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe' 🔍 This chapter analyses two cases of policy innovation involving novel types of union-building projects within the General Confederation of Labour. 📕 Download or order a copy of the book 🔗 etui.org/Z9S

Boeiend stuk van Luc Cortebeeck over het sociaal overleg. Een beetje historiek is altijd goed om het heden mee te verklaren en de toekomst -met sociaal overleg- vorm te geven. www.demorgen.be/meningen/luc...

Lees de meer gedetailleerde studie hier: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

We need more Young Workers to become union reps! Great blog by @tuc.org.uk featuring the voices of Young Workers: www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/if-wer...

🗣️ ETUC General Secretary, Esther Lynch, stressed how renewal is also about narrative. It’s about crafting a modern, unifying story of working people. "The fundamental building block towards trade union renewal is to build a unified story of working people in which everyone stands up for one other."

How can trade unions innovate & stay strong in a changing world? 📚 Last week's launch of two ETUI publications, 'Experimenting for Union Renewal: Challenges, Illustrations, and Lessons' & 'When Trade Unions Learn to Innovate', offered insights into how unions can adapt in an evolving world of work.

How can trade unions boost their membership numbers again? 🗞️ Read a new article by @kurtvandaele.bsky.social in @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social, analysing what innovations Belgian unions can introduce to reverse the downward trend & strengthen their role in a changing world of work. 🔍 buff.ly/tZPEPdQ

Participants highlighted how innovation isn't an isolated act but a strategic mindset: a way of designing, implementing, and scaling ideas that respond to today’s realities. 🤝

👉 During this joint ETUI–CRIMT event, leading scholars and trade union practitioners from Europe and North America came together to share concrete examples of unions experimenting with new approaches, strengthening capacity, and developing diverse pathways to #renewal.

Hoe kunnen #vakbonden hun ledenaantallen weer opkrikken? Lees het in www.sampol.be/2025/12/hoe-... via @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social @vakbondabvv.bsky.social @hetacv.bsky.social @aclvb.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social

Les #syndicats belges face à un tournant : innover pour rester proches des travailleurs via @lesoir.be www.lesoir.be/713721/artic...

Hoe kunnen #vakbonden hun ledenaantallen weer opkrikken? Lees het in www.sampol.be/2025/12/hoe-... via @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social @vakbondabvv.bsky.social @hetacv.bsky.social @aclvb.bsky.social @etui.bsky.social

🗞️ The ETUI in the #media ✔️ @kurtvandaele.bsky.social on why Belgian unions must innovate to stay close to workers in @lesoir.be, & on the surge in Belgian strikes in @nieuwsblad.bsky.social, @knack.be and more. 👉 Check out the full round-up of our latest appearances on European media: etui.org/4kd

Trade unions slam latest deregulation push in @oecd-ocde.bsky.social Economic Outlook. @tuac.bsky.social TUAC strongly contests the OECD’s push for deregulation, warning that weakening worker protections will not drive innovation and risks increasing inequality. tuac.org/news/oecd-ec...

'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe' 📕 Download a copy of the new book: etui.org/Z9S 📆 Don't miss the launch on 4/12, where you can hear Barbara Samaluk, University of Ljubljana, speak about her Slovenia case study. Last day to register! 👉 etui.org/Z9T

Les #syndicats belges face à un tournant : innover pour rester proches des travailleurs via @lesoir.be www.lesoir.be/713721/artic...

Amazon workers in over 30 countries are striking this 'Black Friday' weekend, demanding fair wages, union rights, and environmental accountability. The "Make Amazon Pay" campaign marks its sixth year of turning the retail giant's busiest sales period into a global day of protest.

Chapter by Anke Hassel in 'The Elgar Companion to Regulating Platform Work: Insights from the Food Delivery Sector' Edited by Kurt Vandaele and Silvia Rainone, and published by Edward Elgar Publishing Order it here 🔗 www.elgaronline.com/edcollbook/b...

"Amazon’s business model is pushing workers, and the societies they live in, to a breaking point." Writing in The Wire, Christy Hoffman explains why workers and citizens across more than 30 countries will be taking to the streets to #MakeAmazonPay.

Eén ding is al zeker: 2025 wordt een historisch stakingsjaar. In die zin is het sociaal protest tegen de plannen van De Wever vergelijkbaar met het protest tegen het Globaal Plan (1993) van Dehaene I @vakbondabvv.bsky.social @hetacv.bsky.social @aclvb.bsky.social

Register here for the conference 🔗 etui.org/Z9Y

📕 'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe' takes a deep dive into key cases of grassroots efforts and international collaboration, uncovering a need for sustained investment in unions’ internal capacity to collaborate, adapt and learn 🔗 etui.org/Z9S

📗 'Experimenting for union renewal: challenges, illustrations and lessons' examines how trade unions from across the world are responding in experimental ways to disruptions that are destabilising traditional structures and practices 🔗 etui.org/Z9M

At this vital debate about the future of trade unionism, a joint event from the ETUI and CRIMT, two important multi-author studies on union renewal will be launched 👇

How can trade unions innovate and stay strong in a changing world❓ 📆 Join us on 4 December to hear some of the leading scholars of union renewal from Europe and North America present their latest research in discussion with trade unionists from a diverse range of sectors 🔗 etui.org/Z9Y

'When trade unions learn to innovate: case study evidence from across Europe' Download a copy of the new book🔗 etui.org/Z9S 📆 Don't miss the launch on 4 December, where you can hear Katarzyna Rakowska, University of Warsaw, speak about her Poland case study. Register for the event 👉 etui.org/Z9T

🪧 Sociaal overleg: richting noorden of zuiden? Opiniemakers willen richting een noord-europees sociaal overleg model én stellen voor om de macht van de vakbond aan te pakken Dat duwt het Belgische model richting het zuiden, niet het noorden. Kom dan niet klagen over een staking! 🤷‍♀️

Bart De Wever en passe de battre un record

Belgian unions are escalating to a historic three-day general strike in a final showdown with the right-wing government, aiming to stop the most significant rollback of the country's strong welfare state and workers' rights since the post-war era.

Rapporté à mille travailleurs, cela fait 185 jours de grève sur les six premiers mois de l’année. «Le gouvernement De Wever semble bien parti pour battre le record de grèves du gouvernement Dehaene Ier (1992-1995)» www.lesoir.be/713218/artic...

De regering schrapt de tijdelijke RSZ-korting op arbeidsduurvermindering. Minder werken is nochtans geen geitenwollensokkendroom, schrijft Lieveke Norga, je vermijdt ermee dat nog meer mensen langdurig ziek worden. In plaats van te investeren wordt gekozen voor besparen op wie en wat werkt.

Aantal stakingsdagen in 2025 stijgt naar recordhoogte: gaat regering-De Wever het record van Dehaene breken? www.nieuwsblad.be/binnenland/a...

'When trade unions learn to innovate' 📕 Download a copy of the new book🔗etui.org/Z9S 📆 Don't miss the launch on 4 December, where you can hear Arianna Tassinari, University of Bologna, co-author of this chapter with Alex Girolamo, speak about their Italy case study. 🔗 etui.org/Z9T

Toevallig of niet, maar vandaag zijn de cijfers voor het aantal #stakingsdagen in het eerste semester van 2025 bekendgemaakt: 792.847 of voorlopig 185 stakingsdagen per 1.000 werknemers. De regering-De Wever lijkt daarmee op weg om het stakingsrecord van de regering-Dehaene I te breken.

Straf dat gn enkele "expert" zich afvraagt hoe dit gedrocht in praktijk kan werken. BE indexsysteem is NIET UNIFORM: - 100k'en werknemers krijgen maandelijks/6mnd een stukje index - of gebruiken een andere spilindex (moment indexatie kan in '27 liggen en niet in '26)... www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...

Een ellendige novemberavond, met een motregen die de dappersten van de straat veegt.

‘Te radicaal’ en met een ‘te hoge kostprijs voor de economie’, klagen werkgevers en rechtse politici. Maar het stakingsrecht is noodzakelijk voor een democratie, legt Patrick Humblet, emeritus-hoogleraar arbeidsrecht aan de UGent, uit. Hij noemt de ijver van partijen om het in te perken zorgwekkend.

In het spoor van de vakbonden: 'Het is nooit een perfect moment om te staken, maar het is nodig' www.tijd.be/politiek-eco...