Paris, 28/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - It won't last for long, but there is an opportunity for European trade-unionism to reverse the trend in the balance of forces to the benefit of workers after the set-backs suffered by financial capitalism. On Wednesday 27 May, addressing trade unionists in Paris, as part of the mid-term conference, Secretary General of the ETUC John Monks sarcastically quipped: “European Court of Justice (ECJ) 4, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) 0”. He also called for the crisis to be fought, and denounced casino capitalism. With his football-match terminology, Monks illustrated that the front-line in the European trade union battle was also being played out on the legal field, following the challenge to the right to strike and collective agreements made by the judges' ruling. Monks explained that in four cases, the ECJ ruled that collective bargaining and the right to strike were less important than the free movement of posted workers. He also affirmed that without a protocol on social progress and revision of the directive on posted workers, employees would find it increasingly difficult to live in the EU single market. The British secretary general of the ETUC said that if this trend in the balance of forces was to be reversed they would need a renaissance in trade unionism and an extension of their activities in new industries and services.
New-found interest in trade unions - Instead of being a threat, the crisis could, on the contrary, be transformed into an opportunity for European trade unions. Even if there is a currently a massive increase in unemployment in Europe (26.5 million people in the EU will lose their jobs next year), which automatically leads to a fall in trade union membership, Claude Rolin, the secretary general of the Belgian CSC stated, “there is great trust and sympathy for trade union organisations”, adding, “letting this trust down would be at the risk of seeing a growth in popularism in Europe”. François Chérèque, the secretary general of the French CFDT was not predicting a “May '68 in 2009” but did consider the crisis as “an opportunity for the trade unions to reduce inequality”, which had not ceased to grow. The French trade unionist said that an opportunity existed for shifting the balance back in favour of the workers. In a reference to the Cotis report on added value, commissioned by Nicolas Sarkozy, Chérèque indignantly explained that “the dividends from added value in France had practically doubled in 10 years”. During a round table organised at the Paris town hall yesterday, some union leaders also underlined the successes of European trade unionism. The ETUC, for example, helped towards the creation of 65 new rules or European laws. The ETUC facilitates the exchange of experiences and good practices to find the best adapted instruments and methods for attracting and retaining new members. Belgium, which has mass trade union membership, and Denmark, which has the highest rate of trade union membership in Europe (79%) are success stories. Claude Rolin explained that the success of Belgian trade unionism was due to “the quality of individual and collective services” (such as legal services and unemployment benefits, given that the trade unions were also the bodies that paid out this benefit in Belgium) and the “level of information and social concertation networking” (the unions even have a seat at the Central Bank of Belgium) and have a “capacity for openness with regard to other problems” (mobility, regional development and environmental challenges).
Attracting the youth - The key to greater union membership lies in unions getting into SMEs and attracting young people. Panikos Argirydes from Greece, who heads the SEK/ETUC Youth Committee, deplored the fact that often young people “prefer to be members of Greenpeace rather than a trade union”. François Chérèque affirmed that young people could be used against the terms and conditions of their members' own jobs. He regretted that no trade union had been outraged by the Franco-German management of EADS use of “temporary worker flexibility”. To attract the youth, it will be necessary to “put an end to trade union pessimism” (an expression used by Bernadette Segol (the secretary general of UNI-Europa), which sent out a negative image to young people. According to Janusz Sniadek from the Polish Solidarnosc union, they should also avoid using simplistic or aggressive slogans. He thought that they could talk about the European minimum wage without having to invent any stories. Nevertheless, Mr Chérèque put things into perspective and said that the unions were not all powerful. He concluded the round table by posing the question of alliances with “mass movements” (tenant associations from working class areas and student organisations, for example). (Y.P.transl.rh)