Gaby Colebunders (born 26 December 1972) is a Belgian trade unionist, politician and member of the

Flemish Parliament The Flemish Parliament (Dutch language, Dutch: , formerly called Flemish Council or ''Vlaamse Raad'') constitutes the legislature, legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders, both as a geographic reg ...

. A member of the

Workers' Party of Belgium The Workers' Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA) is a Marxist and socialist political party in Belgium. It is the only Belgian party represented in parliament that is a fully national party, representing both Flanders and Wallonia. Having historically be ...

, he has represented Limburg since July 2024. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Representatives from June 2019 to May 2024. Colebunders was born on 26 December 1972 in

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

. He studied

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

at the (CVO) in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Colebunders, whose mentor was Jef Ulburghs, has been taking part in protests since he was twelve. He became a trade union representative whilst working for a cardboard company. He then worked at the Ford Genk factory for 25 years where he was a trade union representative for the

General Labour Federation of Belgium The General Labour Federation of Belgium (, , FGTB; , , ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation and has a membership of 1.5 million ...

(ABVV). He was at the forefront of trade union opposition to the closure of the factory announced in 2014. A

hardline In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

r, he fell out with the ABVV leadership and joined the

Confederation of Christian Trade Unions The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (, or ACV; , CSC) is the largest of Belgium's three trade union federations. History The federation was founded in 1904, but can trace its origins to the "Anti-Socialist Cotton Workers' Union" founde ...

(ACV). He spent a night in police custody after taking part in a union demonstration at Ford Cologne in November 2012. He has also worked for a stone carpet company. Colebunders contested the 2014 regional election as the

(PVDA)'s first placed candidate in

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

but the party failed to win any seats in the constituency. He was elected to the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in Genk at the 2018 local election. He was elected to the Chamber of Representatives at the 2019 federal election. He was elected to the

at the 2024 regional election. Colebunders is married and has three children and a grandchild. His daughter Giada died unexpectedly in June 2022 at the age of 21.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colebunders, Gaby 1972 births Members of the 55th Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Belgian trade unionists Living people Local politicians in Belgium Members of the Flemish Parliament People from Genk Workers' Party of Belgium politicians