Suchergebnisse

Confronted with acute SE problems, the Socialist & the Christian Democratic trade unions in 1976 strengthened their "Common Trade Unions" Front' (with about 2 million members out of a total of 2,300,000 wage- & salary-earners in Belgium) in view of negotiating with employers & with the government, for which the trade unions have submitted a common platform. This common front has antecedents on the local, regional, & professional levels, but has never been & never will be of a permanent nature. This is due as much to historical, as to ideological causes. The principle of class struggle is basic to the socialist union, & christian doctrine is basic to the Christian Democrat concept. The two unions are imbalanced in their linguistic division. Socialists dominate the French-speaking South, while the Christians dominate the Flemish-speaking North. Each confederation wants to maintain its identity. From the employer's view (& to some extent completely independent from the trade union's common front) representatives of employer's organizations have launched the idea that a new & comprehensive "social contract" should be negotiated. The Christian Democratic Union favors such a pact, but since the socialist trade union rejects this idea--which would lead to a further integration in the capitalist system--the probability for such a pact to be realized at present is rather low. Modified HA.

Policy making in the Netherlands during three post-WWII periods is examined, focusing on limits imposed by the structure of society & the intellectual climate of the time. Intellectual & political constraints in economic policy, welfare policy, physical planning, & foreign affairs are discussed. Political constraints are shifting because of changes in market assessment, planning, & coordination. An increase in consultation among government, employers organizations, & trade unions is advocated, with the government establishing macroeconomic & social guidelines. Modified HA