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In our newsletter of September 10th, we announced the coming publication of the latest book by PTB-PVDA chairman Peter Mertens, They have forgotten us. The working class, health care and the coming crisis. Today we have the pleasure of inviting you for the evening launch of the French translation of the book, published by Le temps des cerises.

If it depends on the preliminary opinion of the European Court of Justice, there will soon be a very liberal judgment against the statute of Belgian dockers. The Major1 Act could become an empty box, and there would be less space for unions and more for temporary employment agencies. Such liberalisation of port labour opens the door to social dumping. This matter does not only concern (European) dockworkers, but all workers who want more social protection, trade unions who want to have an impact and all those who stand up for a more social Europe.

“This is the same policy as the previous government”, reacted PTB-PVDA chariman Peter Mertens to the announcement of the Vivaldi government's agreement (a government composed of the 4 major political families, like the 4 seasons: liberals, social-democrats, Christian-democrats and greens). “The liberals are making their mark: there will be no tax on millionaires, the pension age remains at 67, despite all the promises, and wages remain frozen. That's not what people voted for.” The PTB-PVDA promises a strong leftist opposition, both in Parliament and in the streets.

As the 7 traditional parties (liberals, socialists, greens and christian democrats) are on the verge of forming a government, after 490 days of negotiations, trade union united-front rallies have taken place to put pressure on the negotiators and to put social priorities on the table.

After 13 days of strike action, the workers of AB InBev have managed to bring the beer multinational to its knees and to obtain good progress in enforcing health regulations.How? A small glimpse of the ingredients of a victory.

The German chain of discount stores Aldi belongs to one of the wealthiest families in Europe, and has registered record sales this year. This does not prevent management from saving money on the backs of the personnel. An unprecedented spontaneous strike turned into a first victory for the whole country. Aldi's staff and trade unions have obtained an extension of the special measures and compensation related to the coronavirus and, more importantly, they have won respect.

The Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) denounces the presence of former lobbyist Richard Bergström in the European Commission's negotiating team for the advance purchase of a vaccine against Covid-19. The left Party fears that Bergström's presence will guarantee agreements that are very favourable to the interests of the pharmaceutical multinationals, at the expense of citizens and social security. Marc Botenga, Member of the European Parliament for the PTB-PVDA, calls for transparency: "Show us the contracts."

The French multinational Sodexo announces its intention to lay off 380 workers in Belgium. "This is unacceptable, " reacted Raoul Hedebouw, spokesman for the PTB. "They cooked food in hospitals, cleaning, etc. They are among the heroes of the crisis that kept society going." Their work has also paid off for the company, which made a profit of €1.2 billion in 2019. The PTB-PVDA proposes a move to the 34-hour week, which would save jobs.

The campaign is a unique collaboration between left-wing parties from all over Europe and the Group of the European United Left (GUE/NGL) in the European Parliament. "In order to win against this pandemic, it is vital that a vaccine or medicine is freely available to all", says Marc Botenga, MEP for the PTB-PVDA. "The coronavirus vaccine is being developed today with billions of euros of public funds, of taxpayers' money. We cannot allow pharmaceutical companies, who had thus far refused to invest in this vaccine, to now take ownership of the vaccine and decide on the price and supply."

Almost exactly one year after the elections, a new poll was conducted in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium. The PTB-PVDA continues to grow: from 2.8 % in 2014 to 5.6 % last year and 8.2 % according to the latest survey [conducted only in Flanders - note: in Brussels and Wallonia, in the various elections of 2019, the PTB-PVDA had obtained between 12.3 and 14.6%].

In Belgium, since 11 May, contact tracing has been in place. Contacts of infected persons will have to remain in home quarantine for 14 days if they are called by a tracer. With the government's current proposal, many people will suffer a loss of salary of 30% during their quarantine. For many families, this is another potential financial loss after the one caused by the lockdown. Sofie Merckx, MP of the PTB-PVDA, proposes that the salary would be maintained in case of quarantine: "To fight the coronavirus, we need to do our utmost to ensure that as many people as possible can follow the advice of contact tracers. That means everyone should be able to keep his income."

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