Syndicalism in the Belgian Armed Forces
In: Armed forces & society: official journal of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society : an interdisciplinary journal, Band 2, Heft 4, S. 477-494
ISSN: 0095-327X
Before 1914 the Belgian military held a relatively privileged position in Belgian society at each social level. The introduction of universal suffrage in 1919 encouraged veterans of WWI to become more vocal in stating demands, though they were generally still extremely well treated. The surrender of 1940 destroyed the prestige of the Belgian army, leaving Belgian soldiers, since 1960, feeling inferior to military personnel of other nations. In 1961 an association for the protection of military men's interests was founded; it occupies ambiguous status between that of a union & that of a charity, but it has been fairly active in Belgian politics. In 1975, new regulations were adopted for military personnel conduct which allowed trade unions but forbade strikes. By 1972 all military personnel were already represented by a single combined union. Some psychological & sociological aspects of military unions or syndicates are reviewed. 1 Table. W. H. Stoddard.
