Workers took part in protests across Belgium

The capitalist is not going to end

On June 18, zoo employees, medical workers and entertainment workers in Belgium simultaneously held protests. The workers opposed illegal cuts, demanded to increase funding for medical facilities and get support from the state in other sectors.

Mass protests in Belgium
Mass protests in Belgium

In the zoo of Antwerp (Belgium), several dozen employees were laid off due to the crisis, while the employer refused to communicate with the zoo employees on this issue, which provoked their strike. The head of the union that organized the strike said that «even during a crisis, the management is obliged to maintain feedback with the workers.»

At the same time, the medical staff of hospitals in Flanders, led by ACY Plus, are conducting a joint campaign aimed at drawing public attention to the problems associated with financing municipal health facilities. Although, according to the union, a large rally was impossible because of the epidemic, the action was carried out by local employees and was purely symbolic.

Employees in the field of «event organization» have also been trying to draw attention to their problem, since a joint protest rally organized by trade unions and several large companies took place in this industry on June 18 in Brussels. Since March 12, all activities due to the epidemic have been canceled and postponed to the second half of the year. According to the organizers of the protest, 3200 companies and 8000 jobs are at risk, and without the support of the government, the probability of new bankruptcies in the sector increases every day.

It is clear that the small and even big bourgeoisie are afraid of getting ruined, which is more likely to happen right now, during the crisis of capitalism. This fear forces capitalists to seek support from the state. But the process of destroying some entreprises and seizing markets by larger monopolies is an inevitable process due to market competition. As can be seen from the above events, this process is characteristic of any capitalist country. Thus, the problem of reducing jobs and productive forces cannot be solved within the framework of a market economy. In order to have the opportunity not only to maintain, but also to increase jobs, to expand the productive forces and living standards of the whole society, radical transformations of the economic system are necessary.