EUROPE Towards a European union federation?
(UGT) and the Workers' Commissions (CCOO) which, unlike CREATED in 1973, the European the French CGT, have been Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) admitted into the ECTU, with the held its seventh congress in support of the majority of the trade unions of the EEC member Luxembourg from May 13-17. This states, all supported the project. meeting was the occasion to launch The Scandinavian unions, on the an organizational reform aimed at contrary, were very unenthusiasreinforcing the weight of the tic about the decision, for they perceived it as strictly related to organization at the European level. the context of the European Clearly, the ETUC wishes to carve out Community, to which they do a better place for itself in the not belong; the British Trades framework of the European Union Congress (TUC) also opposed it. unification process, where the trade Despite the skill of the bureauthat the ETUC leaders consider the most important; dialogue and negotiation with the EEC organizations, the European employers' confederation and the multinationals.
On the other hand, the ETUC bureaucrats are not at all concerned with the problems of ensuring participation by trade union militants of the confederated organizations in the European trade union supposedly being constructed, and still less with common mobilizations and actions. For example, the ETUC Congress will henceforth be held every four years (and not every three years as was the case until now) and the number of delegates will be no more than 400 (for 47 million affiliates).
Any appeal to Europe-wide strikes is excluded, at any rate for the moment, under the pretext of not infringing existing legislation (which does not authorize such calls in different countries at the same time) — even if the congress, while admitting the necessity of a severe "selfregulation" in the matter, has decided to fight to change the existing legislation on this question. The ETUC has been pushed to such changes as a result of the the growing tendency of the European bodies to ignore the trade union leaderships. Social Charter runs aground The misadventures of the European Social Charter , a project which is going nowhere, illustrate the problems which will confront the ETUC. Despite the participation of the trade unions in dozens of commissions and community organizations, the decisions are taken elsewhere, without their opinions being taken into account. This fact, together with the deep crisis of traditional negotiation procedures throughout Europe because of the economic crisis, has forced the trade union leaderships to seek a space for dialogue at the European level which has been up until now refused to them.
But the trade unions have also been unable to recoup their lost strength through mobilizations based on setting common objectives for European workers - overcoming this problem is the last thing on the mind of the ETUC. The election of the leader of the ultra moderate Italian federation, the CISL, as secretary general of the ECTU is proof of this; the by the Communist Party (the Italian General Confederation of Labour, CGIL) participate in the ETUC. The General Union of Workers (UGT) of the Spanish state participates along with the Workers' Commissions (CCOO, historically linked with the leadership of the Spanish Communist Party, who were recently admitted. 2. The DGB (formerly West German) today includes all the workers of the former easter and wester parts of Germany, following the dissolution of the official easter federation, the Free German Confederation of Trade Unions (FDGB). The DGB represents 90% of German trade unions. 3. See /V 171.
unions are currently considered no more than simple observers. JOAQUIN NIETO A CONGRESS of the ETUC is a meeting of the big trade union bureaucrats (the congress was attended by 270 delegates who represented fifty trade union federations). Vague declarations of principle take precedence over real debates; the decisions are stitched up beforehand in the back rooms. The politicians of the European Economic Community (EEC), the presidents of the different commissions and of the Strasbourg parliament were almost as numerous as the trade unionists.
However, this congress of the ETUC had a very precise objective; the launch of an organizational reform aimed at adapting the body to the new European reality.
Since its birth 18 years ago the ETUC has been a simple coordination of trade unions. Since the EEC committed itself to the establishment of the single European market, some trade unions have argued that the ETUC should become a genuine European federation. The 7th congress has begun this process, unleashing a seemingly irreversible dynamic towards a continental federation - even if it maintains a confederal character because of the historical, political, social and economic differences between the different countries, as well as their different trade union practices.
The German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB)', the Italian union federations (the General Confederation of Labour - CGIL - and the Italian Confederation of Free Trade Unions — 22 CISL), and the federations of the Spanish , state, the General Union of Workers International Viewpoint #208 • June 10, 1991 as crats, who managed to prevent these two positions coming into open conflict at the congress, there were two different candidates for the post of secretary general. Finally, the Christian Democrat trade unionist Emilio Babaglio, of the CISL (supported by the Germans, the French and the Spanish in particular) was elected to the post; Norman Willis, of the British TUC, was named president of the ETUC, representing the sectors hostile to the current turn.
Strengthening the centre
What does the current reorganization consist of? In the first place, the executive power of what was previously called the Finance and General Management Committee is to be increased and the role of the secretary general, who becomes the true "number one" of the Confederation, is to be strengthened. Also, the trade union committees (that is, the coordination of the different branch federations — of which there are currently 15) will be reinforced - they will be represented with full rights in the executive committee of the ETUC.
These changes might appear anodyne, but they seek to reinforce the role of the Confederation so as to make it a trade union organization on the European scale, able to exert influence in the areas 1. Set up by anti-Communist trade unions who wished to create a counterweight to the Stalinist-dominated World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), the ETUC groups trade unions from 21 western European countries. It includes 35 branch federations and claims 47 milLion members (40% of European workers). As far as France is concerned, the Democratic French Confederation of Labour (CFDT) and Force Ouvrière (FO) participate in the ETUC - the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) has still not been admitted. On the other hand, in Italy both the federation linked to Christian Democracy (the Italian Trade Union Federation of Labour, CISL) and that largely influenced
EUROPE / BELGIUM fact that federations like the UGT and the Spanish CCOO — which had very accomodating positions at the congress — are seen as the left wing of the European trade union movement is also enlightening.
Yet, despite all these limits, the Luxembourg congress has inaugurated a process that seems irreversible; the formation, albeit slowly, of a European trade union confederation.
Moreover, common European trade union initiatives will sooner or later become inevitable, and the trade union bureaucrats cannot remain simply passive observers of the process of unification.
In this context, class struggle union militants must first grasp the new situation; and take it into account by encouraging meetings and coordinations between different left trade union currents across Europe. They will have to be capable of proposing common initiatives for mobilization which take as their centre of gravity the new phase of the organized European workers' movement. * to call for repression against these youth and their expulsion from Belgium.
The district authorities have never bothered to listen to the complaints of their inhabitants, be they immigrants or Belgians. The response to the recent events shows that this is not about to change.
The first response of the president of the Brussels' region, Picqué (francophone social democrat), and the national interior minister, Tobback, (Flemish social democrat) has been to increase the forces of order. Sixty auxiliary police officers are to be taken on. The identity checks are to continue. The national justice minister, Ware (sol Chrs) has demand.