Belgium: Ford workers fight to keep jobs
In Genk, a working class community in the Belgian province of Limburg, the 9000 Ford workers are fighting to prevent 3000 of them being thrown out of their jobs. Ford plans to sack 12,000 workers: the 3000 in Genk, 1700 in Germany and the rest in North America. For the Belgium workers, Ford is the only major factory in the region since the coal mines were closed 15 years ago. In Genk, one out of every four youth is jobless. Ford-Genk signed a collective bargaining agreement with the trade unions in October 2002. This agreement should have guaranteed all 9000 jobs until 2006. Ford-Genk had also concluded an agreement with the government of the Flemish Region (the North of Belgium) for 900 million euro worth of investments in Genk. It involved the start-up of four simultaneous production lines: for the new Mondeo, the Focus, the Galaxy and the Cross Over. The Flemish Region would donate 53 million euros to Ford. Between 1993 and 2000, the Ford Company made US$56 billion profit. Over the same period, Ford introduced night shifts and shifts on Saturday and Sunday, to the detriment of family life and rest. Moreover, thousands of Ford workers had to transfer to subcontracting. In the first six months of this year, Ford still registered a US$1.3 billion profit. The Workers' Party of Belgium has issued an appeal for solidarity with the Ford workers. Harrie Dewitte, spokesperson of the Workers' Party of Belgium for the province of Limburg said, "We demand to all to help build a movement in all layers of the population. A movement of all people who do not accept this unjust decision. We will not allow that the transnational corporations and the political world decide among themselves to give up our jobs. We want popular participation in decisions." The trade unions were organising a big march for jobs on Saturday October 18 in Genk. The Workers' Party of Belgium has called on Ford to respect the two agreements it signed. "With all its energy, the Workers' Party of Belgium and militant trade unionists will fight for this, together with the workers" , the Party said in a call for international solidarity. Solidarity messages may be sent to WPB — Limburg: Dr Harrie Dewitte, Keinkesstraat 3A, 3600 Genk, Belgium or foerd@gvhv.be with a copy to wpb@wpb.be* * * Additional info available from http://www.ptb.be