“The values of the trade union movement are diametrically opposed to what a party like Vlaams Belang stands for,” says Ann Vermorgen, chairman of the Christian trade union ACV, at ‘Nieuwsblad’. “I note that Vlaams Belang pits people against each other and preaches hatred. Collaboration is therefore completely impossible for us, at any level.”
“A political opinion is free, but that apparently does not count for the unions,” the party spokesperson responded indignantly to the editorial staff of HLN. “This shows very little respect for their members,” it said.
However, the unions have the right to exclude members “when they adhere to and express views that are directly contrary to the positions of the same union”, the Court of Cassation ruled a few years ago when a VB militant went to court after being expelled became a member of the trade union.