More Combative Than the Dutch?

Belgian Frontier Workers in Industrial Action in the Netherlands in the 1960s and 1970s

Abstract

This article examines the role of Belgian frontier workers in labor conflicts in the Netherlands during the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on contemporary press reports, the study analyzes key cases, such as the Sphinx ceramics factory in Maastricht, the Etna factory in Breda, and the Clitex textile plant in Clinge. Belgian frontier workers frequently initiated or sustained strikes, often driven by grievances linked to their cross-border status, including unequal child benefits and exchange rate losses. Their activism exposed national differences in industrial relations, but there are no indications of a transnational transfer of protest culture.