Off the wire
• 1st LD Writethru: Death toll in Indian-controlled Kashmir vehicular collision rises to 7  • Schalke to sign Manchester City's Matija Nastasic on loan  • S. Africa warns Rwanda rebel group of consequences for failing to disarm  • News analysis: South Africa's power problems to persist in short term: experts  • News Analysis: What spectre of Berlusconi says about Italian democracy  • China capitalizes on Beijing 2022 to speed up environmental improvement  • Bangladesh appoints new chief justice  • Kenyan capital to audit unsafe residential buildings  • Cambodian PM hails China for initiatives on AIIB, Silk Road Fund  • No new Ebola case for 44 days in Sierra Leone district  
You are here: 　 Home

Belgium: threat of immediate strike ruled out

Xinhua, January 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The threat of a return to the kind of strikes that hit Belgium in the last few months of 2014 has been ruled out for the immediate future following a meeting of the social partners on Monday.

Following a meeting of employers and trade unions on Monday, it was agreed that dialogue between the parties would be resumed with the

intention of avoiding the kind of scenes that saw the country witness a series of regional actions, including a general strike, in the last few months of 2014.

The strikes centred on the centre-right government's proposed austerity and social welfare plans, including a proposal to raise the age of retirement.

Following the meeting on Monday, it was agreed to hold a series of negotiations on all outstanding issues. The deadline for the round of negotiations is Jan. 26.

Employers and trade unions will now meet representatives of the government on Thursday.

"The atmosphere of the meeting on Monday was positive," Marc Goblet, the Secretary General of the FGTB trade union, was quoted as saying by Le Soir following the meeting.

He said that the possibility of any further industrial action has been ruled out for the near future. Endit