Trial of former Forges de Clabecq delegates raises union concerns

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The trial in spring 1999 of 12 former trade union delegates from Forges de Clabecq, the bankrupt steelworks in Wallonia, has raised concern in the ranks of the union movement that it is an attack on the right to strike. The 12 are being prosecuted on the basis of a clause in a law dating from 1877.

Proceedings initiated by bankruptcy trustees and the Nivelles prosecutor's office against 12 former trade union delegates from the Forges de Clabecq steelworks in Wallonia, on account of incidents at the time that the company went bankrupt in 1997 (BE9707109F), are continuing in May. The lengthy nature of the proceedings is increasing the concerns of many trade union activists and officials, which relate to a number of issues:

• the accused are being prosecuted on the basis of Article 66 of the Criminal Code, which dates from 1887 and was intended to convict union leaders who were calling on workers to strike at a time when strikes were still banned;

• the Crown Prosecutor has based its charges solely on police (gendarmerie) evidence and has refused to open inquiries;

• the principal bankruptcy receiver, A Zenner, a Liberal party member of parliament, has stated in a book and a TV programme that he considers this as a political matter;

• the court has refused to allow supporters of the accused to be present during the hearings and has declared that the presence of the press is sufficient to guarantee that the proceedings are public; and

• five of the former union delegates have been excluded from the Belgian General Federation of Labour (Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique/Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, FGTB/ABVV) following a dispute with their regional representatives, and the union has refused to bear the costs of their defence.

After four months of hearings, neither the numerous charges against the accused nor their personal responsibility has been established. Trade union concern has been expressed through demonstrations and petitions in support of the accused across several regions of the country, in particular in Liege and Brussels. The situation has led Michel Nollet, president of FGTB/ABVV, to ask the court to put an end to what he called a farce: "I say that freedom to work is not freedom to prevent collective action, but the freedom to be able to work to feed one's family. Let an end be put to this shameful trial."

The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV) organisation in Walloon Brabant, where the Forges de Clabecq factory is located, has stated that it fears that this trial is really about the right to strike.

Both union confederations are aware of the danger that conviction of the Clabecq delegates would represent for union activity, but they criticise the delegates for having provoked the creation of a pressure group, the Movement for Union Renewal (Mouvement pour le Renouveau Syndical, MRS), which they accuse of being manipulated by a small party of the extreme left. Some commentators believe that such a trial, unusual and highly symbolic both for activists as well as for the judiciary and the police, could have been avoided if the main unions had borne the costs of the defence of all the accused from the beginning.

Reference: "De la sidérurgie wallonne à la sidérurgie en Wallonie", M Capron, in L'Année Sociale 1998, Institut de Sociologie de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles (1999).