our Belgian 61 correspondent ).
The struggle against antistrike legislation now pending in Farljament reached a new pitch at the Enlarged National Committee meeting of the Belgian Vederatir-m of Trade Unions yesterday when 43% of the mandates were cast against adoption. With 3.5% abstaining the right wing was able to muster a majority of only 55.5%. This is the smallest majority ever registered at s congress or enlarged meeting of the FGTB.
The vote is even more significant in light of the fact that 75% of the mandates’from the Walloon part of the country were onst against the legislation, although on April 6 the Socinlist Party congress adopted a motion instructing the Members of Parliament to vote in favour of the bill. The minority opposing the projected law got 30% of the vote but 59% of the Walloon ballots.
4s a result of this sensntionnal progress of the left wing in both the Socislist party and the unions, 12 Socinlist MP's refused to follow the instructions of the SP congress when the antistrike legislation came up for 1 first vote todny in the House of Representatives. This is the first time in the history of the Bal ginn Socinl-Democratic Party that such «a large number of Members of Parliament hnve broken reformist discipline. They were suspended from the Socialist group in Parliament, but their future depends on the ai ef the whole left wing in the Socialist party and the trade UNLOMS »
Lenders of the left wing herve repentedly made it-elenr-that they will stick together. However, thig docs not imply thet the expulsion of some of the rebals would nutomatienlly lead to «= mnjor split off. The district organisations controlled by the left wing, including the Liege district, Belgium's most importent industriol, working closs and sociolist stronghold, would defy the decisions of the bureoucreey by reinstating the expellcd comrndcs na members of their districts with full stnnding.
fhe burenucreey Wuld thon hove to cither expel the districts with their tens of thousunds of mombere or scecept the new situation and the de fneto cutonomy of the left wing of the party in Parlinment.
Meanwhile, "harrassing" strikes continue in severnl parts of the ? country os protcsts against the proposed laws and advnanced workers are following with the greatest interest this tug-of-war between the left wingers, who hnve remained frithful to the working class, ond the reformist burcoucrats, who hnve sncrificcd every principle of socinliam to maintain . codlition government with the bourgcoisic.