Articles

The agitation by healthcare workers comes at a time when the left-wing Workers’ Party of Belgium has been pushing for a large influx of government funds into the sector.

After having worked their entire careers, pensioners are entitled to a decent pension. It is a matter of justice, respect and fair distribution. While politicians are drawing EUR 4,250 pensions, Belgian pensions are among the lowest in Western Europe. With average pensions ranging from EUR 1,244 for men to EUR 989 for women, retired workers cannot even afford a retirement home, let alone enjoy their retirement.

Hundreds of restructuring and layoffs in Match, Smatch and Carrefour stores, a major spontaneous strike at Lidl last year: a real storm hit the distribution sector.

The current decline of the world economy is no secret to anyone. The economic conditions are clearly moving in that direction, to the point that a new crash is feared to occur. Even if it does not go that far, the future is anything but rosy. Red lights are blinking all over.

The tenth edition of ManiFiesta took place on 21 and 22 September. ManiFiesta is a festival organized by Solidair, magazine of the PTB-PVDA and Medicine for the People.

Speech by Peter Mertens, Chariman of the PTB-PVDA, at ManiFiesta, 22 September 2019

Contribution to the PCP Conference, Palmela, 13 September 2019 by Jos D'Haese, head of the PTB-PVDA group in the Flemish Parliament.

Now that Thomas Cook Belgium has also been declared financially incapacitated, Maria Vindevoghel, member of parliament for PTB-PVDA, warns against the possibility of a snowball effect in the sector. For the former Sabena trade unionist, dismissals must be avoided at all costs. “Shareholders and employers have benefited for years from profits and bonuses. Workers, on the other hand, are left in the most complete uncertainty today.”

Shall we soon have to change street names throughout Europe such as the Karl Marx Avenue in Berlin, forbid the sale of t-shirts carrying the portrait of Che Guevara, censor anticapitalist rhetoric, ban from the education programmes aspects that would be considered too positive toward the former communist regimes? This is, in any case, what a dangerous resolution of the European Parliament is inviting us to do.

Marc Botenga, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the PTB-PVDA, voted against Ursula von der Leyen's candidacy as the new president of the European Commission, as did the entire Group of the European United Left (GUE/NGL), of which the PTB-PVDA is a member.

ManiFiesta, the solidarity festival organized by Solidaire and Medicine for the People, was born in 2010, in the midst of a political crisis in Belgium, against a backdrop of rising nationalism. Almost ten years later, ManiFiesta still promises to be a moment of solidarity and struggle against the far right and division. Meet ManiFiesta director Mario Franssen.

Despite an attempt to change its façade, Vlaams Belang remains a far-right racist party. It is essential to unmask the racist, anti-social and dangerous nature of this party, as well as the attempt at "normalisation" that is at work.