At seven pharmaceutical companies, workers’ representatives are refusing to approve overtime until a new sectoral agreement is reached. The situation is particularly alarming at Novartis, a medicines manufacturer in the province of Antwerp, where management has requested staff to work Saturdays after actually announcing significant job cuts earlier this year.

Because of the employers' federation’s failure to respond constructively to union demands during the bargaining round, employee determination is growing. The sectoral unions have developed a large-scale action plan. To break the impasse, the affected unions from all Belgian confederations are organising three days of action. On November 14 and 21, they staged strikes at certain companies, with activists from across the country joining in. On November 26, they will participate in a general strike involving all sectors. If the chemical employers (Essenscia) do not budge, further strikes will follow, according to Andrea Della Vecchia, Federal Secretary of the FGTB Chemical Workers' Union.

Despite falling profits due to increased energy prices, companies in the sector continue to make money. Unions insist that workers receive a fair and well-deserved share of the profits they have helped create. 

In short, the primary demands are: 

  • An increase in gross wages for all
  • End-of-career measures starting at age 55
  • Early retirement for heavy occupations involving shift work and night work
  • Meaningful, secure jobs with a future
  • Concrete solutions for health and well-being
  • An agreement that applies to all workers (including managers)

Through clear positions and actions, the workers are demonstrating their fighting spirit. The coming weeks will be crucial for negotiations with the employers’ association. 

Deputy General Secretary of industriAll Europe, Isabelle Barthès, expresses hope that the sectoral employers will engage in good faith bargaining with the unions and cease rejecting their demands. "All of Europe is currently facing a cost-of-living crisis, leaving many working families struggling to make ends meet. industriAll Europe stands firmly with its Belgian affiliates in this dispute."