A century of solidarity

History of the Socialist Trade Union Movement

Belgium is one of the countries with the highest unionization rate in the world. Six out of every ten employees are members of a union (including job seekers and retirees). With its one and a half million members, the General Belgian Trade Union Confederation has an exceptionally large impact on the social and socio-economic situation in our country. This book delves deeper into the history and current social role of the union.
The first, chronologically conceived part covers the creation of a unified socialist trade union in 1897 and outlines its evolution to the present day. The second, thematic part reconstructs the significance of the ABVV (General Belgian Trade Union Federation) in contemporary society from a historical perspective, with particular emphasis on the role of the socialist trade union in social dialogue, including its influence on social security. This work is the first comprehensive study of the history of the socialist trade union. It was published to mark the centenary of the ABVV.

There is also a French version: Un siècle de solidarité

Luc Peiren & Jean-Jacques Missiaen
ABVV/Ludion/AMSAB/IEV, Brussels/Ghent, 1997, 212 p., ill., softcover