International Meeting “Communists and the trade union movement”

Contribution of the PCP by Manuela Bernardino, 22-24 06 2001 Athens

The initiative of the comrades from the Communist Party of Greece of holding this Meeting to discuss the issues concerning the problems of the Trade Union movement and the role of the communists has, in our view, great actuality and interest

The issues that we propose to approach have an extraordinary importance for the present and future evolution of the struggle of the working class and all workers, for the preservation and affirmation of the class nature of the Communist Parties, their link with the working masses.

There has been a great ideological battle for years around the role and the nature of the Trade Union movement, its forms of organization and struggle, the role of the working class and the workers in the struggle for great social changes, the intervention of the communists in the trade union movement, together with (or as a support) a set of practical measures taken by the employers and their governments, be they socialist or of the right or one and the other, to weaken and limit the trade union organization and intervention, in a conjunction of direct repressive measures with others so-called democratic, aiming to integrate the trade union movement within the system of the domination of the great capital.

All this, which can be seen and attested by daily experience, has a very simple explanation. The trade union movement continues to be the social organization of the masses, the largest organization of the working class and the workers in general, that is, of the more organized and more determined forces in the struggle against exploitation, the forces that are at the centre of the class struggle of labour against capital.

The reality of the Portuguese trade union movement, or that of any other, is strongly marked from its birth and development, by the levels of capitalist development, the co-relation of forces between labour and capital, the experiences and traditions of the struggle of the workers, the higher or lesser degree of influence of the revolutionary or reformist trends within the working class movement, the degree of the existence or absence of democratic freedoms, the permanent changes operated in the productive forces and the entry of new layers in employment.

From the Portuguese reality and experience, it is now important to address three ideas, as they constitute nuclear issues, decisive in the definition of our party guidelines

One idea is that we consider the trade union movement an organization which is necessary and indispensable in the organization, consciousness and mobilization of the workers as an autonomous force in the struggle for the defence of their interests and against exploitation.
Another idea is that the class nature of the trade union movement, its combativeness, link with the workers and their unity is not separable from the decisive influence of the communists at all levels of the trade union movement.

Lastly, in a dialectic connection we also conclude that the influence of the Communist Party among the workers, its capacity of mobilization and affirmation as a revolutionary vanguard, not in theory, but in fact, is not possible without the Party's strong positions in the trade union movement and the workplaces.

It is in this light that one should see the attention paid by my Party, even in the Congress resolutions, to the problems of the trade union movement and which, among the great multiplicity of the tasks and political responsibilities of the Party, lead us to consider this field of work as of priority.

The Portuguese Trade Union movement was decisively marked in its historical development by some essential factors, namely, the practical absence of any reformist influence within the working class movement and trade unions (the Socialist Party dissolved after the implantation of fascism and did not have any roots in the working class movement as well); the decisive influence recognized by the masses of the Marxist Leninist ideological current, the Party guideline set in 1935 and which was carried out till the end of fascism, of intervening within the fascist unions, a directive which enabled strong unions to avoid its influence and domination, and of founding, in the middle of the dictatorship and in the absence of trade union freedom, the trade union central. And lastly, the 25th. April revolution which restored political and trade union freedoms, enabled an explosive development of the Trade Union movement and Workers' Committees, elected in the workplaces, with specific rights and duties, structures that had an essential role in the deepening of the revolutionary process, in the deep social and economic changes, in the long struggle to defend many of these conquests.

For more than 20 years there has been a powerful social, economic, political and ideological offensive against the trade union movement and the Portuguese workers, an offensive that, being a very concrete expression of the exploitative nature of capitalism, has been strongly marked by the advances of the counter-revolutionary process, the reconstitution and strengthening of the power of the great economic and financial groups that were destroyed with the April Revolution, the liquidation of important democratic conquests, the limitation of the rights and the freedoms of the workers, making continuous changes in labour legislation, always having as guideline the restoration of a legal framework of labour relations favourable to the employers' domination.

The social and economic changes are extremely unfavourable to the workers and create serious difficulties to the trade union organisation There is a general precariousness in the labour market, comprising the professional conditions, labour status, wages and working hours. As to unemployment, turned massive and chronic, there is an increasing weight of long-term unemployment.

The destruction or reduction of labour gatherings of a high concentration and strong trade union and Party influence, resulting from the privatisations and industrial restructuring, have significantly weakened the organized base of the trade union movement.

The changes brought about in employment resulting from the technological changes, the modifications carried out in the economic activities and structures, particularly affect the areas that due to the large concentration of workers, great class conscience, experience in struggles, were the more solid part of the Trade Union movement.

The composition of the wage earners underwent great changes. While the numbers of the wage earners increases extraordinarily, they become more heterogeneous, in their role in production, their labour status, and age and sex composition. The wage earning condition of intermediate layers creates a type of workers where the objective situation in the process of exploitation and the subjective understanding of their condition do not coincide.

The issues expressed, to which others could be added, make clear the difficulties and vastness of problems and challenges facing the trade union movement, but difficulties do not mean impossibilities. The PCP continues to believe that the trade union movement, if founded on its
basic values, has every condition to be equal to its responsibilities and overcome its difficulties, fight the theories of those who consider spent this form of the workers' organization and of those who have lost faith in the struggle and the role of the workers and considered class struggle to be part of the ideological archaeology, and in practice defend the submission of labour to capital.

The Trade Union movement as a class organisation corresponds to an objective necessity of the workers getting organised to face exploitation of labour by capital, exploitation that at the present stage of capitalist development does not lessen, but rather intensifies and reaches increasing layers.

The social basis of the trade union intervention changes but does not get restricted, increasingly widens with the continuous growth of paid labour in new areas and layers of the population, widening the mobilization field for the struggle with the integration of new layers of workers.

This is a reality confirmed by the development of the Portuguese trade union movement assembled around CGTP-IN, the real trade union central of the Portuguese workers.

In the last years many new trade unions, in several sectors of activity, were founded, several others carried out great restructuring processes in order to answer new realities and significant steps were taken to make the workers understand the importance of the class organizations.

During the past year, confirming a trend begun in 1997, there was a new wave of trade union membership, with around 60,000 new enrolments, with about 50% of women and 25,000 young workers with less than 30 years. This holds an important meaning insofar as the working youth (the youth with less than 25 years of age constitutes more than 1/3 of the paid workforce) increasingly participates in the mass actions, and represent an enormous potential of rejuvenation, organic strengthening and combative force of the trade union and workers' movement.

Still more surprising is the fact that, in spite of the efforts of the employers to limit or even forbid trade union organization in the workplace, during the year 2000, the base trade union organization was strengthened with the election of 5,000 new direct representatives of the trade unions in the workplace.

The strengthening of the base trade union organization is doubly vital for the future of the trade union movement. On one hand, it is an essential condition for the participation of the workers in the life of their class organizations, without which trade union democracy would be empty, for the mobilization and enlightenment of the workers and for the control of the top leadership's activity. On the other, it is equally essential to guarantee the financial independence of the trade union movement, without which there is no class independence. It was during a Socialist Party (PS) government that, while forbidding the direct deduction of the trade union dues in the workplaces, with the confessed purpose of “breaking the backbone of the trade union movement”, it was clearly understood that the financial pressures could be a way for the submission of the trade union movement.

During the year 2000, the trade union movement collected 6 million contos in dues (conto= 1,000$00), around 30 million Euros or 25,379 million dollars. We, the Portuguese communists, will do all we can to help the trade union movement to overcome its difficulties, strengthen and intensify its action. Meanwhile, there are two issues we would like to approach in a more detailed way.

The first concerns the main duty of the trade union movement, which is the claim struggle, either to counter grievous measures against the workers, or to improve their situation. Besides, the employers understand quite well that the trade union struggle is a barrier to the permanent and persistent action of the employers to belittle the force of labour.

The theories that tend to favour that which they call the “ propositive posture”, “dialogue”, “participation in the institutions”, “social agreement”, make a set of basic mistakes. Participation and struggle are not opposed, on the contrary. Only the struggle can raise the participation even though, taking into account the class nature of the
political power, it is a rostrum to denounce and counter anti-worker policies. The Portuguese unitary trade union movement never signed any social agreement pact. Not as a matter of principle, but because the very logic of the Social Pacts aims to paralyse the struggle of the trade union movement and the workers. It was through mass struggle that the Social Pacts established with the divisionist forces were paralysed and the influence and prestige of the trade union movement strengthened.

The articulation between economic and political claims, the actions within the companies, on the streets and with the organs of power are of vital importance for the defence of the interests of the workers.

A second issue is related to what some call “globalizing resistance”

The processes of the internationalisation of capital, the increasing domination of the multinationals, the processes of integration, the proliferation of the international regulation mechanisms of the division of labour make it necessary to strengthen and improve forms of internationalist cooperation and solidarity. The initiatives such as those which took place during the European Union Summits, when associated with concrete problems of the workers, can have an important role. On the other hand, we continue to believe that this line of work should not superimpose upon the struggle in each country, a field where there is direct confrontation with exploitation, a field where the main class struggles take place, a field where the mobilization of the workers is determining to combat capitalist exploitation. The class battles at the level of each country are a contribution and a responsibility of each detachment of the working class movement towards the general struggle.

The role, influence, prestige and combativeness of the Portuguese trade union movement assembled around CGTP-IN, is not separable from its essential characteristics, namely the class, mass and democratic nature, the functioning and involvement of the workers, unitary in its political and ideological composition, and a consequent and permanent action in defence of the interests of the workers.

The Portuguese trade union movement which in many aspects represents a unique case of the Portuguese working class movement's heritage, and also of the action and intervention of the communist trade unionists.

The communists, being a large majority of the trade union leaders at all levels, from the Unions to the Confederation, are the most influential political-ideological force of the trade union movement.
Meanwhile, it should be noted as relevant that this influence, recognized and accepted by the workers and our allies, derives from the fact that the communists occupy these positions by being elected by their labour companions, as a result of standing out as the more active and consequent defenders of the interests and rights of the Workers.

One of the lines which is unfolded aiming to de-characterize and weaken the combativeness of the trade union movement, has been based upon the questioning of the role of the communist militants in the trade union movement, under an alleged defence of trade union autonomy and independence.

The Portuguese Communist Party, as the Party of the working class and the workers, does not renounce taking stands and guidelines on the trade union movement, guidelines that appear in the resolution of the Central Committee and our Congresses. The Party Statutes decree precise rules to be followed by the militants who intervene in the trade union movement, as well as in the mass movements in general,
rules which bind the Party members to act in accordance with the Party's guidelines in defence of the interest of the masses, defending and observing the autonomy, unitary character and democratic life of the mass organizations and movements, opposing actions which do not take into account the responsibility of the communists towards the masses, as actions which delude the responsibility towards the Party.
These are clear principles, which oppose any idea of mistaking autonomy and independence for lack of politicism or the communists' renunciation of this position when intervening in mass movements and the trade union movement in particular.

Trade union autonomy and independence, as we understand and defend, are expressed by the ability of the trade union organizations of defining through their organs and own regulatory rules, the objectives and actions in view of the employers, the State, religious confessions and Political Parties.

A matter of principle defining the autonomy and independence is the capacity of the trade unions to decide their guidelines in view of the interests of the workers, without caving in to ideological pressures foreign to their class interests, a principle guaranteed by the
participation of the communists.

The lines of work that the PCP has been undertaking to strengthen its link with the workers are of great importance for the strengthening of the Party, and even more when the class enemies try to convey conformism, present capitalism as the best possible world, prevent the understanding of the mechanisms of exploitation, separate social action from political action.

The organization of the Party in the workplaces is determining for the elevation of social and class conscience, the elevation of the workers' political conscience and of support to the PCP.

The strengthening of the Party's influence with the workers will always contribute to the strengthening of the trade union movement.

In our 14th Congress (1992) we concluded that “the influence of the communists in the trade union movement is, under the present conditions, a determining factor of CGTP-IN's strength, independence, class conscience and mass influence.The workers are vitally interested hat it should remain so”.

The evolution of the national life confirms the truth of this guideline. Aware of its responsibilities towards the workers and the country, the Portuguese Communist Party will continue to intervene to strengthen the trade union movement.

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