The ACOD union wants to go on strike on Wednesday during the TV show ‘Villa Politics’

The management and the unions of the VRT are negotiating the transformation plan. At the end of April, the management announced that it plans to lay off 116 employees, not to replace 50 natural chambers and to outsource the production of the ‘Thuis’ soap to an external company. Furthermore, the operational resources of the VRT will not be indexed next year, ACOD complains.

On May 31, the unions have already held a 24-hour strike against the transformation plan. On 2 October, on the initiative of the Common Trade Union Front, the staff stopped their activity even during the broadcast of ‘The seventh day’. Now the socialist union is calling for another strike during the broadcast of ‘Villa Politic’ next Wednesday, with the slogan “no money, no power, no show”. According to ACOD’s Michelle Graus, union members were asking to be allowed to hold fucking campaigns in other programs as well.

For the moment it is not yet clear whether the broadcast of “Villa Politics” will continue on Wednesday. According to Graus, employees currently scheduled for the program have already announced the strike, but that doesn’t stop management from replacing them with workers willing to work. Christian and liberal trade unions ACV and VSOA are not asking for new actions, but they are supporting their members who want to strike. “This will be our position for all actions that follow,” says Carlos Van Hoeymissen of ACV.

Last week, ACOD called for a new 24-hour strike on 21 October. The other unions are also not actively behind this action. For the moment, ACV itself is not working on new acts, but is awaiting further progress in negotiations with management, says Van Hoeymissen. The extent of the impact of the strike on 21 October is still unknown.

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The ACOD union calls for a strike at the VRT on Friday 21 October