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All about the ICFTU World Congress. (Durban, 3-7 april 2000) The future shape of the trade union movement (III)
Collective bargaining remains an important role for the trade unions. But their demands and their membership will go far beyond the confines of the enterprise. Did the Durban Congress see the birth of social trade unionism?
Solidarity: sharing ideas
World trade union solidarity is the only force powerful enough to bring balance and justice to the world economy. The Durban Congress set about organising that solidarity.
Brussels May 10 2000 (ICFTU OnLine): Faced with the growing power of the multinationals, the trade unions must support each other and fight side by side if they want social justice in the world. That was the message underlying discussions on the fourthday of Congress. "We have to eat every day for our survival. That should not depend on the multinationals, whose only aim is to make profits" said Franz-Joseph Möllenberg of the DGB (Germany). Look at Unilever, for example, which is making record profits but at the same time has announced it is going to sack 25,000 people. We could also mention McDonald's, Nestlé, or many other multinationals - the issue is always the same: food is produced for human beings, not the shareholders' profits". Ron Oswald of the IUF spoke along similar lines, stressing that the multinationals' interests always went against those of our members. "There must be some constraints. They cannot be left to do as they please" he said. "We must force them to give us the space our affiliates need to organise. Now is the time to act, because after the failure of Seattle, the multinationals are having their doubts. They are not quite as arrogant as they were."
Recent history is full of examples of victories that trade unionists have won thanks to the solidarity of their friends abroad. Jong-bae Bae from South Korea (KCTU), refreshed delegates' memories of the major strike in 1997 when the ICFTU put its full weight behind supporting the workers' demands. Sharan Burrow of the ACTU (Australia) also added a positive note as she recalled the victory of the Australian dockworkers in 1998: "Our anti-union government was weakened by the international solidarity you demonstrated. It also paid off in East Timor and in the country that is hosting this Congress. We must continue the fight, by supporting Maung Maung, the delegate from the Burmese trade union, and any other brothers or sisters in difficulty". A poignant appeal was made by Amos Junior Mtsinhe of Mozambique (OTM): "More than 2 million people have been affected by the floods and cyclones that devastated my country recently. We call on our friends throughout the world to send us financial aid, food, medicines, building materials...".
Delegates also identified new strategies for organising international solidarity. Cecilio T. Seno of the TUCP (Philippines) proposed that the ICFTU set up a committee on solidarity between the regions. Donald Wittevrogel, speaking on behalf of our Belgian affiliate (FGTB), gave the example of a collective agreement in his country whereby a small percentage of the payroll was reserved for workers' training. "Why don't we try to get another small part of the pay role, say 1%, paid into an international solidarity fund? We must explain to our own members that the best guarantee against seeing their job being moved to another country where wages are cheaper is to ensure that the workers in that country can also organise". Other delegates stressed how much the use of modern technology, such as the Internet, could facilitate the organising of world solidarity. Strong political demands, for the cancellation of third world debt for example, were also an important form of solidarity.
That said, we must face the facts: as Umraomal Purohit of the ITF pointed out, most of the workers the ICFTU represents have never heard of it, and the same applies to the ITSs. "Peoples attitudes have to change. They have to understand that international solidarity is at the heart of daily trade union action, not something you think about after you've done everything else. The money has to be there too, to help those in urgent need, as in the case of the Australian dockers. " The credibility of international trade union action also depends on the number of individuals taking part, which brings us back to the question of increasing our membership. Silam Hassan of Malaysia (MTUC) recalled the importance of recruiting workers in the informal sector. An exchange of experiences can be extremely useful. Guillaume Attigbe of Benin (CSA) presented the results of a pilot study in which they succeeded in organising 25,000 people in his country. International solidarity is also a question of sharing your experience...
Samuel Grumiau