Print union calls on employers to refuse orders from extreme right

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At its congress in June 1998, Belgium's Setca-Livre print workers' union called on the industry's employers to refuse orders from racist and xenophobic parties.

The congress of Setca-Livre, held on 10 June 1998, unanimously adopted a motion calling on employers to "refuse to prepare or to print leaflets, posters or folders produced by racist and xenophobe parties". Setca-Livre is the new information and communications sectoral organisation affiliated to the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV) It comprises the printing and paper federation and Setca, the organisation for white-collar employees, technicians and management. The congress declared that workers who refused to print such documents should not be disciplined.

The issue arose when the union was questioned by one of its members whose employer had been involved in the production of a leaflet for theVlaams Blok, a far-right Flemish party, which was widely distributed through letter-boxes in Brussels. The full-colour leaflet had been written in French in an attempt to attract the votes of the majority of the population of Brussels, and allegedly included racist remarks banned by law. Despite complaints, the Public Prosecutor's Office has not prosecuted the authors. By its action, the union in the sector wanted to support democratic organisations trying to prevent the distribution of this type of literature, whether originating from the Vlaams Blok, the Front National or other connected organisations.