It broke out as part of a wildcat strike among dockworkers in the Port of Antwerp on 2 June 1936 and quickly spread to other industrial regions without the endorsement of the country's major trades unions.
It also occurred against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War which proved divisive in Belgium.
Nonetheless, the Belgian strike was unusual in uniting socialist and Catholic trade union federations in support.
Paul Van Zeeland, the incumbent Catholic prime minister, agreed to convene a National Labour Conference (Conférence Nationale du Travail) on 17 June 1936 to bring together trade union and company representatives.
It brokered a compromise agreement including the introduction of a legal minimum wage, six days' paid holidays, and a maximum 40-hour working week for workers in particular industrial occupations.