The bill calling to ban ‘rioters’ from participating in protests is being widely criticized as a tool to target and persecute trade unionists and political activists

Sébastien Menesplier, leader of a union affiliated to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), was summoned by the police recently. The CGT claims that over 400 of its activists are being prosecuted in various courts for protesting the controversial pension reforms forced through by the Emmanuel Macron government

Last year, the Liège Criminal Court convicted 17 trade unionists involved in a national strike in 2015 “for obstructing traffic”. Since then, trade unionists and progressive political groups have been campaigning for the acquittal of the trade unionists and to defend the right to strike

After contract negotiations in key sectors failed, major trade unions in Belgium organized a national strike demanding a wage hike for workers. They also sought the right to early retirement, and a pay rise for workers