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Inside or Outside Trade Unions? The Mobilization of the Unemployed in Belgium

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Abstract

The situation of the unemployed in Belgium is distinguished by two principal elements, which set it apart from other European countries. On the one hand indemnification is, in principle, unlimited in time and young people get access to benefits from the end of their studies onward. On the other hand, the unions are deeply involved in the protection of the unemployed since they play a part in the joint management of unemployment insurance and pay out unemployment benefits to their members, which accounts for why 88 percent of the unemployed are unionized.

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© 2012 Didier Chabanet and Jean Faniel

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Faniel, J. (2012). Inside or Outside Trade Unions? The Mobilization of the Unemployed in Belgium. In: Chabanet, D., Faniel, J. (eds) The Mobilization of the Unemployed in Europe. Europe in Transition: The NYU European Studies Series. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137011862_4

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